Money , its for a History of economic thought class Essay

Money , its for a History of economic thought class - Essay Example Money is the difference between that person who is sleeping hungry and that one who affords to have his pets on a special diet. In this sense, it is the promoter of inequality. Once inequality checks in, the consequences are unlimited there is anger, dissatisfaction, deception and every other emotion and act that epitomizes dissent. It is at this point that â€Å"money costs too much†. This is because it gets to a point where it costs life, peace and relationships. The focus of this essay is on relationships the concern is how money comes between people, how money blurs our sight that we soon forget the emotional, patriotic and sometimes blood bond that hold us together. The essence of this inquiry has been informed throughout the semester, having the opportunity to journalize different experiences regarding money has really brought to the fore the value we place on money. This is because unless we place too much value on money higher than the value we place on our social rela tions then it would never be possible for money to downplay our relations. Unfortunately, the exposure I have had throughout this course and the materials I have read have brought to the fore the disheartening truth that money has a much greater force, it costs too much. Economically, money is considered a medium of exchange the means through which we are able to acquire different goods and services. Historically, it has not always been represented by coins and notes but at some point gold and other valuable metals were the preferred means of exchange. However, history teaches us that the problem has not been with the nature but on the value placed on these materials. Any material in which extreme value has been placed has thrown people into frenzy they are continually interested in amassing that which has value. The burst of the Mississippi bubble brings this act of desperation and thirst for value into perspective. It depicts the race to hold that which has value and disposing tha t which has less value. This has been a historical trend, one that has only aggravated over time, the fundamental question is at what cost? The answer may not be as a definite, but it is evident, it is at a much higher cost. Over the past few months I have been able to watch the documentary â€Å"inside job†. The film directed by Charles Ferguson traces the root of the financial crises that only became so apparent in 2007-8. However, following the film clearly illustrates that the financial crises had been ongoing for a while. The signs had been there of a slowdown but were largely ignored. The reason for this ignorance is the basis of this study. The crisis was driven by a need to compound on gains made, a need to amass assets that were being speculated to appreciate in value. Given the capital limitation enforced by the market dynamics, people had to borrow and banks, which are also the primary lenders had to lend for speculative purposes and had also to invest in these spe culations. In any case, the banks were the first to participate in these speculative ventures. The result was an imbalance between the asset base and money borrowed by investments banks. At the end, the speculative ventures never bore the anticipated results and the banks were left indebted. People who had entrusted their hard earned money had lost their confidence on the very people who represented a chance of higher value. This

Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation - Essay Example This is achieved by increasing using multiple turns of the coil to increase its sensitivity, to allow high duty of pulsing. At the same time, the design will consider the inductance of the coil gradient, which will have to be minimized. The components of the MR system that are important in this regard include the gradient amplifier, voltage across the inductive, and the resistance across the gradient coil. Q3. The effects of gradient G(r) on Larmor processional frequency at a position r is to change the processional frequency at this position r. Q4. The optimal separation of two current carrying loops to produce as linear a magnetic field gradient as is possible at the centre of the two loops is when 2Z1 =, where a refers to the coil radius. The reason as to why this separation is different from the necessary one to produce a homogenous field is because separating the field in that manner help in generating relatively pure fields. Q5. Slew rate refers to the maximum gradient strength as a factor of the rise time (Vmax/L). The slew rate needs to be as large as possible because it helps in stimulating the peripheral nerves of the human body, thereby creating a â€Å"crawling† type sensation on the skin. Q6. Reason why it is necessary to shield gradient coils: This is done mainly to reduce the net inductance of the system Q7. Type of effect caused by gradient coil shielding to reduce combat the effects of eddy-current induced magnetic fields. Q8. The causes of undesirable sounds produced by magnetic resonance imaging at runtime are due to gradient coil experiencing magnetic forces and torques when being pulsed. The reason is that as the coils get physically restrained, the energy associated with the magnetic forces is released acoustically as loused sound. The undesirable sound can be reduced by: Designing a gradient coil that are torque and force balanced; Shaping the gradient pulses to reduce sound produced; Using acoustically absorbent formers for the co ils; Encasing the gradient coils in an evacuated chamber so that waves of the sound are not compatible. Q9. The main cause of nerve stimulation due to magnetic resonance imaging is the slew rate push and the maximum gradient strengths that induce field in the patient, thereby stimulating the nerves. This is mainly observed by experiencing a â€Å"crawling† type sensation on the skin. It can also be observed through twitching of muscles as the nerves get stimulated. Q10. The causes of impurities in the static magnetic field (BO) include: The patient and radiofrequency coils in the DSV, which may alter the magnetic field due to their magnetic properties; Imperfection in the magnetic manufacturing process; Installation site where ferrous installations done near the magnet may end up altering the homogeneity of the magnetic field over the DSV. Q11. The two types of image quality reduction caused by zonal impurities in the static magnetic field are: Artifacts; Homogeneity. Part B The three topics in my order of preference are: 1) Interventional MR system; 2) MR gradient coils: action and performance; 3) RF resonators for MR applications. The main reason as to why I have chosen the three topics is due to my desire to learn more about them so that I can acquire more knowledge

Left And Right Censored Survival Times Philosophy Essay

Left And Right Censored Survival Times Philosophy Essay Provide a clear explanation of what is meant by left censored and right censored survival times, and illustrate your answer with some examples of how each may arise in a social science context. Suppose that you have continuous time unemployment spell data. The data were derived using a stock sample with follow-up (i.e. interviews some time after the stock sampling date). You also know the date of the interview, at which time information about characteristics were collected, and whether or not the spell in progress at the stock sampling date was still in progress and, if not, the date the spell ended. By deduction, you can calculate the length of time between the stock sample date and the date at which each person was last observed to be unemployed (the interview date for those still unemployed; or some date between the stock sample date and interview date for those who got a job). However, you dont know the date at which each persons spell began, and nor therefore the length of each persons unemployment spell in total from start until last observed. With reference to expressions for the sample log-likelihood function, show that it is possible to estimate the parameters of a n Exponential hazard regression model in this case. Also discuss, giving reasons, whether you could estimate a Weibull model with the same data. [adapted from Wooldridge (2002, Ex. 20.3)] Assume that you have a random sample from the inflow to the state, and all survival times are right-censored. (i) Write down the sample log-likelihood function for this situation. (ii) Derive the special case of likelihood function given in (i) when survival times follow the Gompertz distribution. [Recall that the Gompertz model has hazard function q(t, X) = lexp (gt), where l = exp (b0 + b1X1 + b2X2 + à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + bkXk) and shape parameter g > 0.] (iii) Consider the Gompertz model in which the covariate vector X only contains a constant. Show that the Gompertz log likelihood cannot be maximized for real numbers b0 and g. (iv) From (iii), what do you conclude about estimating duration models from inflow sample data when all survival times are right censored? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Table of Contents Left censored and Right censored When we deal with observations the observation period is the difference between the time when experiment begins (time is zero) and when it terminates (let, time is T0 in Figure 01). But in many cases the entities under consideration (human/device) dont come to an end and in those cases we say that it has been suspended, truncated or censored. In many areas of social science and life testing, the subject(s) may leave or enter after they have been put on test. The subject may leave our study before completion (due to failure or death) or may enter late. To analyse such behaviour of human being we are interested in left censored and right censored. Censoring occurs because sometimes our study of interest is lost to follow-up. Censored data means that the observations are known partially and it reflects the side of the dimension. Stephen P. Jenkins in his Survival Analysis wrote, A survival time is censored if all that is known is that it began or ended within some particular interval of time, and thus the total spell length (from entry time until transition) is not known exactly. (Jenkins 2005, p. 4) Its a major problem in social science that some observations are censored but its very usual that our study of interest may not survive until the end period. Left Censored Left censoring refers to the event that occurs at a time before a left bound. In this case we dont know the time when it started. (L Samartzis 2005-06) It is such a situation that we know the datum is below a certain value but we dont know how much it is. Say, for example, a pathological report is revealed which ensures that the patient is suffering from cancer but we have no idea when the patient has been infected. Figure 01 illustrates the censoring situations where X refers the points in time when we actually start or finish monitoring the censored entities, except the beginning (of entity life, at time zero) and the end of the experimental observation period (time T0). Here Line C completes its spell and all other entities are interrupted. Here, a shows an entity that has already been operating for some unknown period of time, before we start monitoring it. This case is called left-censoring. (Dr. J Luis Romeu, n. d.) Figure 01: Left and Right Censoring In a word left censoring means censoring occurs on the left side. If we ignore this type of censoring then there arise selectivity bias because left censoring will overestimate the mean duration as longer spells tend to be observed more frequently than shorter spells. (Amemiya 1999) Right Censored Right censoring refers to the event that occurs at a time after a right bound. In this case we dont know the time when it ended. (L Samartzis 2005-06) In duration models and survival analysis right censoring occurs very often because in many cases observations are known to be larger than some given value. In this case the only information we have is the right bound. Say, for example, we start with 500 light bulbs and this will be terminated after an assigned period of time. In this experiment censoring will occur on the right side because we exactly know the starting point of our experiment. In Figure 01, Line b shows an entity that has been monitored since the beginning of its life (i.e. at the start of the experiment) but which we have ceased to observe before the experiment ends (time T0) or it fails. That is, we observe the entity for some time, after which we are not able to monitor it any more. This other type of truncation is known as right censoring. (Dr. J Luis Romeu, n. d) Comparison between left and right censoring with the help of an example Suppose, a social scientist is interested in analysing the adverse affect of taking illegal drugs in a particular area (may be Colchester). The researcher is willing to determine the distribution of the time until first Marijuana use among high school boys in that area. The question to be answered by the school boys is: When did you first use Marijuana? Let us consider two hypothetical replies: Respondent 01: I have used it but cannot remember just when the first time was. Respondent 02: I never used it. In case of the 1st respondent the event had occurred but exact date at which he started using Marijuana is totally unknown. This is an example of left censored. On the other hand, in the 2nd case the event not yet occurred but there may be the possibility of taking Marijuana in some future dates. Unlike the left censored the censoring occurs on the right side and thus this is an example of right censored. (Klein and Moeschberger 2003, p. 70-71) (b) Stock Sample with follow-up The important things to be considered in this example are: This is a continuous time unemployment spell data. The data were derived using a stock sample with follow-up which is a different name of left truncation (delayed entry) and their applications are similar to handle. This type of data is most commonly used by economists. (Jenkins 2005, p. 5) The stock sample dates are still in progresses which indicate that there are some observations that are right censored. Let us define, Ti = Total spell length f (Ti) = Probability density function (slope of Failure function) at time Ti S (Ti) = Survival function at time Ti ÃŽÂ ¸ (Ti) = Hazard function at time Ti S (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  ti) = The date at which the stock sample was drawn Ci = Censoring indicator Xi = Vector of observed covariates b = Parameter to be estimated N = Sample size There are two types of contributors, Those who leave the state of interest. Those who stay in our state of interest. So the likelihood function will be, N N Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚  [ f(Ti) / S (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  ti) ] Ci à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚  [S (Ti) / S (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  ti) ] 1- Ci i = 1 i= 1 Now by definition of hazard function, we have N Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚  [ ÃŽÂ ¸ (Ti) ] Ci [S (Ti) / S (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  ti) ] i = 1 N Or, log Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ { Ci log ÃŽÂ ¸ (Ti) + log S (Ti) log S (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  ti) } [ Equation no 01 ] i = 1 Equation no 01 clearly states the log-likelihood function of the example. Now its not difficult to consider the Exponential and Weibull model to estimate the parameters. For Exponential Model case: We know that the Exponential model has the following hazard function: ÃŽÂ ¸ (Ti) = ÃŽÂ » where l = exp(bX) Now, by definition the survival function can be obtained from the hazard function by the equation below: t S(t) = exp ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ « ÃŽÂ ¸(u)du ) [ Equation no 02 ] 0 So the survival function of the Exponential model is S(t) = exp (-ÃŽÂ »t ). Now plugging the value of the hazard and survival function of the Exponential model in the log-likelihood function (Equation no 01) we get the Exponential hazard regression model which is as follows: N log Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ { Ci log ÃŽÂ » + log [exp (-ÃŽÂ »T )] log [exp (-ÃŽÂ »Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  t )] } i = 1 N Or, log Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ { Ci (bX) ÃŽÂ »T ÃŽÂ »Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  t } i = 1 Once we get the value of the variables we can easily calculate the log-likelihood function of the Exponential hazard regression model. For Weibull Model case: Exponential model is a special case of Weibull model which has the following hazard function: ÃŽÂ ¸ (Ti) = ÃŽÂ » ÃŽÂ ± tÃŽÂ ±-1 where l = exp(bX) When ÃŽÂ ± = 1 the model describes the Exponential model thus it is nothing but a special case of Weibull model. From equation no 02 the survival function of Weibull model is, S(t) = exp (-ÃŽÂ »tÃŽÂ ± ) Plugging the value in the log-likelihood function (Equation no 01) we get the Weibull model, N log Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ { Ci log [ÃŽÂ » ÃŽÂ ± tÃŽÂ ±-1] + log [exp (- ÃŽÂ »TÃŽÂ ±)] log [exp (- ÃŽÂ »Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  tÃŽÂ ± )] } i = 1 N Or, log Ã…Â  = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ { Ci (bX) + Ci log ÃŽÂ ± + Ci (ÃŽÂ ± 1) log t ÃŽÂ »TÃŽÂ ± ÃŽÂ »Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  tÃŽÂ ± } i = 1 Like the exponential model we can easily calculate the Weibull model when we have the data of the model. The estimation can be obtained from the above log-likelihood function for the given data. But its a matter of judgment that which model will be the best-fitted? The result depends on the value of ÃŽÂ ± and its critical value of the t-statistic (the p-value). The critical t-statistic value of ÃŽÂ ± will decide which model is appropriate for the given data. If the value of ÃŽÂ ± is greater than 1 and significant then it is wise to consider the Weibull model rather than the exponential model. (c) [Adapted from Wooldridge (2002, Ex. 20.3)] The problem of estimating the censoring and time varying covariates is not possible to handle by the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method rather it is addressed by the estimation based on Maximum Likelihood (ML) method. But before going to estimate we should identify the type of process that generates the data i.e. the type of sampling scheme. The random sample from the inflow to the state is one of the five sampling schemes analyzed in social science. (Jenkins 2005, p. 61) Given the random sample, let Xi = Vector of observed covariates ÃŽÂ ¸ = Vector of unknown parameters N = Random sample size ti = Length of time Ci= Censoring indicator Ci = 1 if uncensored Ci = 0 if censored The conditional likelihood observations can be written as f( ti | Xi, ÃŽÂ ¸) Ci [ 1 F (ti | Xi, ÃŽÂ ¸ ) 1- Ci where uncensored and censored subjects are in product form. (Cox and Oakes 1992, p. 33) (i) If all observations are right censored, Ci = 0 and hence the log-likelihood function is N à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ log [1 F (ti | Xi, ÃŽÂ ¸) ] [Equation no 03] i=1 (ii) Gompertz model has hazard function q(t, X) = lexp (gt) where l = exp(b0 + b1X1 + b2X2 + à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + bkXk) and shape parameter g > 0 By definition, survival function S(t) is t S(t) = exp ( à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ « ÃŽÂ ¸(u)du ) [ recall Equation no 02 ] 0 Now the survival function in Gompertz model is S(t) = exp [ ÃŽÂ » / g exp ( gt ) + (ÃŽÂ » / g ) ] S(t) = exp [ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt) } ] And consequently the failure function is F(t) = 1- exp [ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt)}] So the log-likelihood function for Gompertz distribution (from Equation no 03) is N à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ log [1 1 + exp [ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt)}] ] i=1 N = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ log [exp [ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt)}] ] i=1 N = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt)} [ Equation no 04 ] i=1 (iii) In Gompertz distribution when the covariate vector Xi only contains a constant implies that l = exp (b0) where without this condition l = exp (b0 + b1X1 + b2X2 + à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + bkXk). In this conditional case the observed covariates Xi is defined only by the constant term b0. Hence the log-likelihood function (from Equation no 04) is N = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (ÃŽÂ » / g) {1 exp (gt)} where l = exp( b0 ) i=1 N = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (exp( b0 ) / g) {1 exp (gt)} [ Equation no 05 ] i=1 Given positive value of t and g the value of {1 exp (gt)} will always be negative and consequently the value of equation no 05 will be negative. So we can maximise the likelihood function only by maximising b. But when the value of b à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¾ the exp (b0) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¾. So for any positive value of g (nevertheless to mention that t is also positive) the log-likelihood function (containing only constant of covariate vector Xi ) will lead to b getting more positive values without any bound. We can also rule out the minimisation of log-likelihood function by minimising exp (b0) across b. For the value of b à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¾ the exp (b0) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0. The values of b are getting more and more negative and it will go beyond calculation. Hence, the Gompertz log-likelihood cannot be maximized only for the real numbers b0 and g. (iv) From (iii) we observed that Gompertz log-likelihood cannot be maximised for only real numbers b0 and g. So it is not possible to estimate the Gompertz models from any given flow data when all survival times are right censored. Actually this might be a special case when all data under consideration are right censored and covariate vector Xi contains only a constant. (d) References Amemiya T. (1999), A note on left censoring, Analysis of Panels and Limited Dependent Variables Models, Edited by Hsiao, C., Lahiri, K., Lee, Lung-Fei, and Pesaran, M. H., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cox, D. R. and Oakes, D. (1992), Analysis of Survival Data, 1st edition (Reprinted by University Press, Cambridge), London: Chapman Hall. Jenkins, Stephen P. (2005), Survival Analysis (unpublished), , July 2005, Accessed on 07 April 2010. Klein, J. P. and Moeschberger, M. L. (2003), Survival Analysis: Techniques for Censored and Truncated Data, 2nd Edition, New York: Springer-Verlag. Romeu, Jorge L., (n. d.), Reliability and Advanced Information Technology Research with Alion Science and Technology, Online at , Accessed on 08 April 2010. Samartzis, Lefteris (n. d), Survival and Censored Data, Semester Project, Winter 2005-2006, Online at , Accessed on 08 April 2010. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The End à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦

Comparing Male and Female Relationships in Cat in The Rain and Hills Li

Comparing Male and Female Relationships in Cat in The Rain and Hills Like White Elephants by Hemingway This relationship is examined closely in two short stories. The stories, Cat in The Rain, and Hills Like White Elephants, both show a man and a woman in what seems to be a quiet and passive moment. However in both stories, Hemingway carefully uses imagery and subtlety to convey to the reader that the relationship in the story is flawed, and is quite clearly dysfunctional. Both male characters in each story clearly have trouble understanding their women, and it is this inability to see them and what they want that Hemingway is addressing and criticizng. What, in both works, appears to be a quite and passive moment, is in reality a pivotal point in each relationship, and neither man seems to realize it. Â   For example, Cat In The Rain tells what seems to be a simple tale of an American couple spending a rainy afternoon inside their hotel room. This simple set up serves as a great metaphor for what appears to be the couples relationship. Outside it's ugly and gray. And nothing is going on inside. Form the begging, we can see that their is a well established rift in the relationship between George and his unnamed wife. The woman sees a cat standing in the rain, and tells her husband (who is being non communicative and sits aside reading, the whole time) "I'm going down and get that kitty"(129). Hemingway writes the response of the Husband as '"I'll do it", her husband offered from the bed"(129). The fact that George seems so detached, and makes no effort in even getting up clearly shows us that his "offer" her means nothing. He is simply going through a mechanical motion of seeming to listen and care, with out even bothering ... ...tle bit of light she needs. Â   In conclusion, neither of these stories really gives any hope to their respective relationships. It seems that both cases feature men who have long already ignored and under appreciated their loved ones, and have hurt them and not even seen that hurt. Hemingway seems to be telling us that they key to keep relating is to not only listen, but listen with intent. Both the women in these stories are sad, hurt and lonely. Those are traits Hemingway seems to have written about numerous times, but they come across beautifully in these tales that at first seem small and insignificant, but truly do offer a snapshot into the emotions of it's characters, and into ours as well. Works Cited The Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway. The Fianca Vigia Edition. Scribner Paperback Fiction. Published By Simon and Schuster. New York, NY.

Personal Problems

Personal Problems George Orwell’s â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is a simple essay with a strong message. Throughout the piece, the narrator faces the same conflict day after day and was â€Å"hated by large numbers of people† (Orwell 377). This level of hatred causes the narrator to make a decision against his beliefs and in favor of the imperialistic society. This decision is not based on the right thing to do, but to simply fit in. Orwell uses his perplexed narrator, a simple plot, and detailed setting to explain how individuals choose self-image over self-satisfaction.Orwell speaks in first person as a participant taking on the role of a European police officer in an anti-British colony, and is the perplexed individual caught amongst the action. The officer faces unforgiving natives who often meet him with â€Å"sneering yellow faces †¦ [and with] insults hooted after me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Orwell 378). Yet in irony, those same citizens expect protection from a raging elephant on the loose causing an internal barrier. The officer explains, â€Å"They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching† (Orwell 380).It was at that moment when he realizes he is just â€Å"an absurd puppet† and is being used by the natives for whatever purpose they need. The plot in the essay is simple, straight forward, and follows the basic plot elements: the who, what, where, and why. In the first sentence, Orwell presents the narrator as the main character and the roles of the supporting characters. He describes the officer as an outcast, often targeted by the natives for amusement. Orwell wastes no time with deep rising actions, but quickly reaches the climax, exposing the internal conflict.The officer exclaims, â€Å"but even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind,† and continues to describe how he was more afraid of looking like a fool in f ront of the natives than of the tyrant elephant (Orwell 381). Orwell keeps simplicity throughout his essay yet supplies great details; allowing the reader to feel the emotion and atmosphere of the setting. He uses plain language and few words to describe the cultural setting that is shaped from religious and political views. The officer often mentions the British rule and how the Buddhists and natives of the land were the worst (Orwell 379).The cultural differences between the British rule and natives were far from the same. Not only did this contribute to the internal conflicts of the officer, but to external conflicts of other British people in the colony. Orwell supports his theme of self-image over individual morals by using all the elements of literacy. The narrator’s conflict within himself was brought upon through his own actions and thoughts. As an officer he had a right to carry out the laws of the land, but would rather go against his beliefs to avoid ridicule wanti ng to fit in and not be laughed at.Nonetheless, even after he did what he thought the natives wanted, the officer still faces the same issues of internal conflict. He was trying to justify what was done to make him feel better, yet continues to have a guilty conscience. The officer even admits he â€Å"had done it solely to avoid looking a fool† (Orwell 382). In conclusion, Orwell presents a humble approach to a common problem of today. Although doing the moral thing is correct, most humans do what they feel is expected because someone’s eyes are always watching.Orwell cuts right to the point and wastes no time on useless material. The complicated character jumps out in the beginning and forecasts a simple plot. By using details about the location, Orwell supports his plot and places the essay in the middle of Southeast Asia. The location is important and better explains the relationship between authority figures and the religious differences. However, the choice is in the main character’s hands and instead of sticking to his beliefs, he would rather be a follower than forever a fool.

Importance of Greek Mythology Essay

â€Å"Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars referred to the myths and studied them in an attempt to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece and, in general, on the ancient Greek civilization. † (citation) Mythical narration played a very large, and also important role in the lives of the ancient Greeks, they relied mainly on the mythical stories to guide them through crisis and gave them something to believe in; as many people follow God’s words and the Holy Bible in our current time. The epic poems â€Å"The Illiad† and â€Å"The Odyssey† are the oldest known literary sources from the mythology time that we know of. These poems include very many important life lessons such as spiritual growth, loyalty, and perseverance; but these are only a select few of the main themes in the epic poem, â€Å"The Odyssey. † Homer does an excellent job in relating this message through various characters, adventures, and obstacles throughout the book. In the epic poem, â€Å"The Odyssey,† Homer shows the importance of spiritual growth through many instances. Odysseus begins on Calypso’s island and he has been led to believe he owns everything, except for the most important thing, happiness. Odysseus’ becomes depressed because he realizes how much he misses his home land. Homer introduces Odysseus at a bad time to emphasize the growth of Odysseus’ spirit from beginning to the very end. If Homer would have written about Odysseus in high spirits from the beginning, then the growth would not have seemed as prevalent. Odysseus seems to brighten up quite a bit as he sees the light in sailing home. He is brutally tested Poseidon nearly kills him when on the coast of the first island that he reaches, Scheria. The Odyssey says, â€Å"and trapped within that backwash of the brine, Odysseus would have died before his time had not gray-eyed Athena counseled him. † This is only one instance of many that seems to shows the lesson of spiritual growth in â€Å"The Odyssey. † This epic poem also portrays loyalty in very many different ways from characters to situations. In The Odyssey, there remained three main characters that stood out and showed their trustworthiness to Odysseus while he was away fighting in the Trojan War and trying to make his way back to Ithaca. It seems that out of all the characters, the most loyal person to Odysseus could have been simply overlooked, but it most definitely would have been Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. She remained faithful to her husband even after almost twenty years apart from him. She refused to marry one of the suitors that hassled her day by day; so it came as a surprise to learn that Odysseus is most unfaithful to his wife. This part of the epic poem represented the human-like personality of Odysseus in showing that even he could make mistakes, and also wasn’t anything close to perfect. Telemachus, at one point, shows his loyalty to Odysseus by joining him on going on a voyage to learn more about his father, Odysseus. There are a lot of different meanings for each tale and in the Odyssey itself, and there are many more understandings than just one interpretation. From this perspective, one of the main themes of the Odyssey is perseverance. Perseverance is a very important theme and is one that is seen quite a lot throughout the entire epic poem and definitely by more than one character. First of all, there is Odysseus and he was greeted with perseverance in the very beginning of the story. He was held captive by Calypso on an island, when later visited by Athena, Odysseus develops an even stronger desire to go home. In spite of Calypso’s persistence, he then decided to leave. Odysseus also had an encounter with Circe, and was presented with very many different types of temptation. He took the sea once more with his son and wife in mind, and proceeded home. Odysseus and his men end up running into the lotus-eaters. The lotus plants provided an excellent, relaxing feeling for all of the crew, and no one wanted to leave except for Odysseus who stayed his course. Perseverance is also displayed in his way of thoughts, and also his desire to survive and at times conquer, are qualities that promote his perseverance. For example, when Odysseus finally returns home, he plans to kill all of the suitors that have been courting his wife and ends up doing so. Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey have let us get a bit of a taste of the importance Greek Mythology for the ancient Greeks. His writings have let us see how much they believed in the Greek mythology and how they applied the life lessons to their personal lives. I found many comparisons to the Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology to our God that many people believe in today. Their words and stories were as important to us as His stories are to us today. Homer’s epic poem, The odyssey included many obviously important life lessons that the ancient Greeks learned from and took from the stories in the way they lived their lives.