Outcasting the Outcast free essay sample

You have thoroughly out-done yourself this time. Your exaggeration, nosiness, and obsession with our group were all qualities that we could escape, but now you are officially infringing on our ability to safely enjoy our backpacking trip. This five day hike along the Appalachian Trail is an honor rewarded only to the oldest and most readily equipped individuals, and the group bonding opportunities are magically binding. As the unspoken leader of the first wave of hikers, it is your job to keep us at a good pace and warn us of untamed roots, eroded dirt, or any sort of creatures (alive or dead) obstructing our booted feet from getting to everyone’s final goal: the shelter for the night. Since you feel the need to show off by creating massive and inconsistent gaps between you and your â€Å"beloved† group mates, we have come to a conclusion: it is time for a coup. We will write a custom essay sample on Outcasting the Outcast or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Well, this coup was not my idea, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say no. In fact, when my peers nudged at my pack and whispered words of inspiration, I was surprisingly willing to save the day. But Eric was my social project. If I caved into my friends’ pressure, if I got angry now and showed my frustration, I would contradict everything I had done to make him a trail leaderaˆâ€ or at least a hiker who did not ignore the rules. On the other hand, I didn’t really give a rat’s a** now. So the decision was made: I would quickly hike into the leading position without a word and just continue the hike how it started, how it was meant to be. My opportunity came sooner than I expected. The path opened up to an uncharacteristic part of the trail, a wide clearing coated in moderately sized rocks to contain erosion. It gave me the perfect space to launch myself forwardaˆâ€ I would â€Å"use the hill† and â€Å"dig deep,† ultimately putting me at the head of the group. Unfortunately, Eric was thinking (and hiking) on his toes, and he recognized the attack on his throne. Kicking it into high gear, we both started trucking up the hill like mountain goats. Of course he would pick up the pace: everything was a competition to him and I had just given him someone to fight. Then, it was a good idea for me to give him the rope to hang himself. As I pulled into the lead, his huffing and puffing distracted me for just a moment, and there it was: a rock, split perfectly down the middle as if by the devil himself. As the rock held my ankle, my body and my ego came to a crashing halt, and I buckled over. Eric took this opportunity and pulled up the hill, his blatant disregard for my injury. I propped myself up using my three uninjured limbs and stampeded up the rest of the hill like an angry mother wildebeest. With an adrenaline rush and sheer determination propelling me, I made it to the top before him. From my perspective, I was a bestial juggernaut clawing up this mountain. From the rest of the group’s perspective, I was a pathetic and feeble sloth, slow-motion lurching up this hill in a manner so unnatural that I did not fit with the endless forest surrounding me. The trip leaders quickly surrounded me with their bright red first aid bag while Eric quietly trudged up the last rocky mound to the shelter. When I overheard Eric parading his accomplishment to the rest of the group my gut filled with a hatred that could be comparable to the scorched heat of getting branded. Worst of all I had turned into the most glaring cliche of all time: I didn’t know who I hated more, him or myself. My knee was potentially ruined because of a temporary frustration. I had crippled myself in an unholy triumvirate: ligament, muscle, and cartilage tears lent my knee into a blotted bubbling cauldron of swelling caught underneath my skin. Two years, one surgery, and three long bouts of physical therapy later, you still don’t know of my immature, one sided detestation of you, and probably never will. You will probably never know how to love hiking the way I had hoped you could. You will probably never know how much I hate you for ruining this and every other sport I will ever try. You will probably never know how difficult it will be to even contemplate forgiving you in the next decade. And most definitely Eric, you will never know how much I hate myself for deciding that I was going to run up that hill and show you â€Å"who’s boss.†

Free Essays on Red Convertible

The Cost of War Vietnam was a hell on earth for the solders that were forced to fight it. The solders that had a bad experience were traumatized beyond help. The story â€Å"The Red Convertible† was a story about a man named Henry that was sent to Vietnam and upon his return was never the same. Lyman, Henry’s younger brother, narrates the story and he was fortunate not to have to fight. Henry did not get enough support when he really needed it. When Henry came back from Vietnam he was traumatized. He never acted the same and his family never recognized him from before he left. His actions seem to be more hostile to everyone. Henry seemed always withdrawn and overly aggressive upon his return. Before he went into the service he had a good relationship with his brother and acted a little â€Å"loony†. The part of the story where they go on a road trip with their new convertible defines Henry’s personality. Henry and Lyman were driving around when they saw a girl named Susy walking along the road, on a whim they both decide to pick her up and give her a ride home. When they find out where she lives in Alaska they don’t care and they drive her home. They were both so carefree that they decided to go take her home. Henry and Lyman were so charismatic that Susy’s family took them in as their own. When Susy let down her hair and Henry held her up on his shoulders showed what a carefree and expressive p erson he was. Lyman seemed to have all the luck and that led to Henry’s resentment toward him. Lyman seemed to be a prodigy with making money. He was so good that he was able to own a restaurant at the age of 16. And he showed he good luck more by getting a good number on the draft where Henry got a bad one and so he signed up for the military. Henry’s hostility toward Lyman manifested by him not going through the same experience, and Henry not getting any help. Henry was unbalanced when he came back from the war. He didn... Free Essays on Red Convertible Free Essays on Red Convertible Unable to Cope in Erdrich’s â€Å"The Red Convertible† In the short story â€Å"The Red Convertible† Louise Erdrich writes about two brothers who were Chippewa Indians, living on a reservation in the 1970’s. Lyman, the youngest brother, reveals how an event in his older brothers life, Henry’s, turned him inside out, dwindled from the person he was. Lyman’s story is about how Henry changes, before the war Henry was out going, liked telling jokes and hanging out with his brother. After Henry comes home from being drafted into the Vietnam War; he doesn’t talk or laugh and is to himself, Lyman even destroys the car they shared, trying to bring his brother back. Henry worked at Jewel Bearing Plant before the layoff. He didn’t seam as lucky with money as his brother Lyman. â€Å"But Henry was never lucky in the same way as me.†(409) Lyman became owner of a restaurant at sixteen. â€Å"It wasn’t long before the whole thing was mine.†(407) Henry didn’t seam to have a problem with Lyman’s good fortune; he loved his brother, they did every thing together. Lyman and Henry bought a red convertible together and traveled all summer in it. Henry liked having fun and making people laugh. â€Å"Then my brother Henry did something funny†¦he started twirling, this way and that, so her hair was flung out from side to side. â€Å"I always wondered what it was like to have long pretty hair,† Henry says. (408) Henry liked to talk; he never met a stranger, â€Å"†¦talking to whoever sat with us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (409) After three years of being a prisoner of war, Henry came home. â€Å"†¦Henry was different, and I’ll say this: the change was no good.† (409) Lyman knew that Henry would be different from the experiences he under went in the war, he didn’t know how deep the wounds ran in his brothers mind. The way Henry acted, never smiling or talking and always jumpy, unable to deal with everyday life; even his friends quite coming around. â€Å"†¦now y... Free Essays on Red Convertible The Cost of War Vietnam was a hell on earth for the solders that were forced to fight it. The solders that had a bad experience were traumatized beyond help. The story â€Å"The Red Convertible† was a story about a man named Henry that was sent to Vietnam and upon his return was never the same. Lyman, Henry’s younger brother, narrates the story and he was fortunate not to have to fight. Henry did not get enough support when he really needed it. When Henry came back from Vietnam he was traumatized. He never acted the same and his family never recognized him from before he left. His actions seem to be more hostile to everyone. Henry seemed always withdrawn and overly aggressive upon his return. Before he went into the service he had a good relationship with his brother and acted a little â€Å"loony†. The part of the story where they go on a road trip with their new convertible defines Henry’s personality. Henry and Lyman were driving around when they saw a girl named Susy walking along the road, on a whim they both decide to pick her up and give her a ride home. When they find out where she lives in Alaska they don’t care and they drive her home. They were both so carefree that they decided to go take her home. Henry and Lyman were so charismatic that Susy’s family took them in as their own. When Susy let down her hair and Henry held her up on his shoulders showed what a carefree and expressive p erson he was. Lyman seemed to have all the luck and that led to Henry’s resentment toward him. Lyman seemed to be a prodigy with making money. He was so good that he was able to own a restaurant at the age of 16. And he showed he good luck more by getting a good number on the draft where Henry got a bad one and so he signed up for the military. Henry’s hostility toward Lyman manifested by him not going through the same experience, and Henry not getting any help. Henry was unbalanced when he came back from the war. He didn...

Monetarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Monetarism - Essay Example This affects many things in our lives such as the price of food, the wages we work for, and how much our mortgage is. Thats why these men are so important. The Federal Reserve has taken an unprecedented amount of control and power in the wake of the Great Recession. At the time many people were unsure what to do. The current Chair of the Federal Reserve in the United States believes, along with Friedman, that the Great Depression was worsened by excessive government action—nevertheless, the government is spending a ton of money and intervening a lot in the economy in an effort to save a lot of companies that had very bad and very risky business models. Part of the problem is that companies became â€Å"too big to fail.† That means that if they were to collapse, the damage to the economy would be so terrible, the economy itself might collapse. This has been a serious problem in the United States and it is part of the reason so much money has been given to AIG, for example. Some blame the Fed for causing the crisis in the first place by maintaining low interest rates for so long. This action resulted in an expansion in personal debt as borrowing costs were so low. The result was that people stopped saving and consumers and businesses became overleveraged. As debt rates spiralled people began to default on their interest rate payments. This in part was responsible for the crisis. The solution to all of this, some have said, is to follow the philosophy of Keynes. This suggests that the government should fund a massive stimulus program in order to give more money to ordinary people so that they spend it and create economic growth. This idea might work in the short term and with a small stimulus, but it is too expensive in the short term. Macroeconomic policies should also be used and interest rates kept at reasonable levels. It helps to use fiscal tools such as low tax rates in order to help solve the problem. Both a small

Role of Independent Non-Executive Directors Essay

Role of Independent Non-Executive Directors - Essay Example Perhaps the most summarized in the Federal Law "On Joint Stock Companies", which refers primarily to the independence of Board members from the management. Incidentally, the definition of "independence" of directors is given in Sec. 9, "The interest in the commission of public transactions," so this definition can be regarded as purely utilitarian. A much more detailed vision of independent directors make the Code of Conduct and the Association of investor protection . Last added to the list of groups that should not affect the directors, yet the state, as well as major shareholders and partners of the company. Perhaps, except for employees (excluding top management), lists all of steykholde-ditch. However, if we take into account our current realities, placing the company's employees to the stakeholders (directly or through participation in trade unions) will be more a tribute to the generally accepted world practice, rather than a reflection of reality (Arbouw, 2004, pp. 8). Thus, in the most general case, it can be argued that an independent director is independent from all stakeholder groups. Of course, there is a statistic that confirms that the involvement of independent directors correlates with the high efficiency of enterprises and their degree of success. Moreover, already in 1992 Cadbury report was published, which stated that "the level and number of non-executive directors on the board of directors shall be such that their views have made a significant contribution to the decision of the Board of Directors". Later, in 1998, these provisions were reaffirmed in the group, Sir Ronald Hampel of the fundamental principles of corporate governance. However, I venture to suggest that the need for independent directors in the UK there was still earlier than the institution of independent directors. In his article, M. Samosudov concludes that, in speaking of "independence" of directors, "to talk about the independence of judgments of the Board of Directors ( Barratt, 2002, pp.9). That is understood that members of the board of directors and board of directors as a whole should be in every situation to express opinions, make decisions, guided solely by considerations of their own professionalism and efficiency of the company as a whole, but not by considerations of any individual participants of corporate relations. â€Å"Then we come to the following conclusion: the independent director is a highly qualified specialist who can satisfy the needs to implement the functions and exercising the authority of the Board of Directors the most effective way, regardless of the views of various stakeholder groups. Main Body From this definition we can draw three conclusions. First, an independent director - not a position, and the profession, such as, for example, an electrical engineer or an accountant, with all ensuing consequences. Secondly, any shareholder, being of sound mind and memory of, must carry out the appointment of board members only from among the independent directors (the best, besides no one is appointed by, say, a professional accountant to the position electrician). And thirdly, to the service must be approached with the same criteria as any other service or any other product: the light of its value (how effective or that the applicant) and prices (the value of his services). As an option - to hold a competition for filling vacant board member. It is clear that, if we exclude from consideration all animate objects, the "Company" is a mere collection of assets and related liabilities to shareholders and third parties. Therefore, to talk about the "public interest" makes no sense. However, there are a lot of sense to talk about the interests of employees and its top managers. In this case we have to, first, to

How is Cannery Row like a Tide Pool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

How is Cannery Row like a Tide Pool - Essay Example As the discussion stresses the starfish prey on mussels whereas gulls break open the sea urchins and feed on the starfish. The black bears also sometimes feed on the intertidal creatures when the tides are low. However, as much as the organisms must avoid the strong currents, wave, sun and predators to survive, they also rely on the constant changes in the pools for food. The creatures that thrive in the tide pool cannot survive on their own. There is some kind of interdependence among the various organisms, where each relies on the other for survival according to Halpern. This way of life in the tide pools have attracted special attention of philosophical writers such as John Steinbeck, marine biologists and naturalists.  This paper outlines that the life structures in the tide pools directly relate to the social structures of the Cannery Row. The mussels and limpets occupy the lowest status at the bottom of the pool whereas the starfish that prey on them and the eels that hide in crevices occupy a status above them. Hermit crabs who are always on the look out for empty shells that might be bigger than the ones they have also occupy the bottom of the sea. However, this structure is often silenced when the tides come back in but begin all over again when the tides move back and the ocean draws back.  The story of the Cannery Row revolves around the people left behind when the Cannery had closed. Mack and his friends (the boys) occupy the lowest status at the bottom end of the social structure just as the mussels.

Capital Punishment in the US

Capital Punishment in the US Katie Sawtelle Capital Punishment: Americas Blood Stained Hands In 2015, the most executions took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America (Death Penalty 2015). What a peculiarity it is to see the U.S. included in the list alongside undemocratic nations. America is the only westernized country that still continues to put the death penalty to use. Capital punishment should be abolished for it delivers inadequate legal representation and is discriminatory toward racial minorities. It is a fundamental right for a defendant in a capital case to be assigned a competent lawyer, yet, more often than not, court appointed public defenders often lack the skills and drive for effective representation. A common characteristic of those on death row is poverty. It is estimated that around 90% of inmates on death row could not afford to hire an adequate attorney (American Civil Liberties Union). Without a competent lawyer, a defendants case barely stands a chance. In the spring of 2014, Glenn Ford, an African-American man, was released from a Louisiana prison after spending thirty years on death row for a crime he did not commit (Bright). Ford could not afford an attorney in his capital case, so the court appointed him two lawyers for his representation. One of the lawyers was an oil and gas attorney who had never presented a case in front of a jury before. The second lawyer was a recent law school graduate that worked for an insurance firm. Despite the weak case presented against Ford, the all white jury sentenced him to death (Bright). It is not equal justice when the defendant receives inadequate representation just because of the amount of money he or she has. Appropriately put, those without the capital get the punishment (Von Drehle). Those accused of capital crimes rely on lawyers to protect their legal rights, investigate, and present evidence that will doubt their guilt. It is extremely difficult for a low-income defendant to navigate the legal justice system on their own. One major reason that innocent defendants have been placed on death row and executed is due to incompetent or inexperienced court-appointed lawyers; in extreme cases, some attorneys have been found asleep, intoxicated, or under the influence of drugs during trial proceedings (Bright). Some may argue that if court appointed lawyers were much better, then guilty people could be acquitted. That may be true, however, the more important issue regarding better court-appointed lawyers is that innocent people could be acquitted. Innocent people that were convicted and executed could have possibly lived out the rest of their lives if they had received better court-appointed legal defense. In some states, people sentenced to death may receive legal representation from pro-bono (free service for the public) lawyers or from public organizations. Most of the time, there is not enough pro-bono attorneys for all of the poor defendants facing death row. This could possibly result in the defendant obtaining an inept court-appointed lawyer. To receive a new trial, a defendant could file for post-conviction relief and state that their constitutional rights were violated, however, it is usually only possible for those who can afford lawyers. Some states provide lawyers for post-conviction relief, although the majority of the nation does not. Regardless of whether a defendants constitutional rights were violated at trial, they still may have to face execution. A number of people are sentenced to death not because they committed the most heinous crime, rather, the courts did not provide them with competent legal representation. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a United States Supreme Court Ju stice has said, I have yet to see a death case, among the dozens coming to the Supreme Court on eve of execution petitions, in which the defendant was well represented at trial (Bright). The amount of money a defendant has in capital cases can be the difference between life and death; In present day America, it is better to be rich and guilty, than poor and innocent (Bright). The death penalty in the antebellum South (1815-1861) was a tool of white supremacy. The possibility of slave uprisings haunted slave owners, therefore, the death penalty was regularly enforced to resist slave opposition. (Von Drehle). In Virginia, during the antebellum era, it was a capital offense for a slave to administer medicine, for it could have been poison. Also, an old statute in Georgia stated that if a slave left a bruise on his master, he could receive capital punishment (Von Drehle). The late M. Watt Espy, a researcher that studied capital punishment, recorded around 15,000 executions in the United States dating from 1608 to 1972 (Von Drehle). Espys research and recordings reveal racial disparity in U.S. executions. His research suggests that in a significantly white America, more blacks than whites are executed. Whites were rarely put to death for crimes that involved African-American victims (Von Drehle). A study of the death penalty done by the University of Texas pro posed that Americas modern-day capital punishment system is an outgrowth of the racist legacy of slavery (qtd. in American Civil Liberties Union). Racial bias is still very much alive in the modern justice system of America It is far more likely for racial minorities (African-American and Latinos) to be placed on death row and be put to death than white people particularly if the victim is white. A recent Louisiana study conducted by Glenn Pierce (research scientist at Northeastern University) and Michael Radelet (Professor of Sociology at University of Colorado-Boulder) indicated that defendants with white victims were 97% more likely to receive death sentences than defendants with black victims (qtd. in American Civil Liberties Union). In the United States, blacks and whites are murder victims in nearly exact numbers, which is exceptionally high considering that 13% of the population is African-American. Between the years 1930 and 1996, around 4,200 prisoners were put to death in America; more than half of those prisoners were black (American Civil Liberties Union). Americas death row has always had a large population of African Americans and they are often killed for what are deemed less-than-capital offenses for whites, such as rape and burglary (American Civil Liberties Union). It has been asserted that racial discrimination and the death penalty are part of Americas past, nevertheless, since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the 1970s, around half of those on death row at any given time have been minorities. Florida Latinos are beginning to shift away from the death penalty. The state of Florida has one of the lowest bars for sentencing someone to death by not requiring a unanimous jury recommendation, and they lead the nation in death row inmates being released due to wrongful convictions (Cartagena). For these reasons, Floridas death penalty has been struck down as unconstitutional twice in 2016. Four Florida counties Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval are among 16 counties nationwide that have each had five or more death sentences between 2010 and 2015 (Cartagena). All of these counties have been found to suffer from prosecutor misconduct, bad defense lawyers, wrongful convictions and racial bias (Cartagena). From 2010-2015, every inmate in Miami-Dade County who was sentenced to death, was black or Latino. Yet, studies argue that in most locations across America, minorities are responsible for less than half of homicides (Too Broken to Fix). The nations largest death row capacity resides in Los Angeles County, California and statisticians expect continued growth. In 2013, reports revealed that Los Angeles County was responsible for more death row prisoners than any other county in the United States, and it has ranked as one of the two most prolific counties in imposing new death sentences each year since (Too Broken To Fix). Between the years 2010 and 2015, Los Angeles County imposed 31 death sentences, which adds up to be the most death sentences enforced in any U.S. county during that period (Too Broken To Fix). Those 31 death sentences in L.A. show severe racial disparity in their sentences: approximately 94% of the 31 death sentences enforced were directed toward minority (Latino and African-American) defendants and even though African Americans commit fewer than one-third of all Los Angeles County homicides, they comprised 42% of those condemned to death in this period. 45% of the new death sentences were imposed on Latino defendants (Too Broken to Fix). Only two white defendants received the death penalty. Unsurprisingly, a 2014 study conducted in Southern California concluded that white jurors are more probable to inflict capital punishment when the defendant is Latino and poor than in cases where the defendant is white. Latino jurors presented no such bias (Too Broken to Fix). The amount of racial minorities sentenced and executed on death row continues to suggest that capital punishment and racial discrimination are indeed still a part of modern day America. Since the Supreme Court reinstatement of the death penalty in the mid-1970s, juries in Texas have to determine if the defendant poses a future risk to the public, before applying the death sentence. Most states have the jurors consider past behavior and crimes of the defendant, however, in Texas, juries are asked to predict the future (Vansickle). In essence, these jurors are asked to predict the unpredictable. Those who are pro-death penalty may argue that experts can determine future violence, however, if juries and experts could determine future danger, then there would not be any crime. Currently, in the state of Texas, there are around 240 men and women on death row that have been determined to pose a threat to society. The question of future dangerousness has not reduced the amount of death sentences, rather, testimony on the issue has often instead introduced racial bias into trials (Death Penalty Information Center). The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments for the Texas death penalty case of Buck v. Davis. In July of 1995, the defendant, Duane Buck, shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and her friend (Vansickle). At the trial, Bucks lawyer initiated testimony from a psychologist that said Buck was dangerous and posed a threat to the public since he was African-American. In 1997, the jury found Buck guilty and sentenced him to death. Before his execution, the Supreme Court halted his case due to the racial bias that resulted in his death sentence. Buck is still awaiting his new sentencing. Many studies, including one conducted by Cornell University, propose that the race of the victim and defendant play a critical part in whether a person receives the death penalty (qtd. in Vansickle). Criminologists conducted a study used in Bucks appeal that analyzed racial disparity in Harris County, Texas the location where Buck was sentenced to death. The study resulted that from 1992 to 1999, Harris County prosecutors were three and a half times more likely to seek the death penalty against black defendants than white ones. Jurors were more than twice as likely to sentence blacks to death (Vansickle). Another study led by Jennifer Eberhardt, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, established that in cases with a white victim and a defendant with stereotypical black features, the more probable the defendant would be sentenced to death (Eberhardt). These studies suggest that race plays a detrimental role in whether a defendant receives the death penalty. Race should never be a predictor of dangerousness or influence whether a person receives the death penalty, yet, it is the harsh reality in the land of the free. With the death penalty, someone will always end up on the short end of the stick; usually that person is either African-American or Latino. The U.S. should not put value on someones life based on their skin color, however, it is the current reality. Stephen Bright, Professor of Clinical Law at Yale Law School, argues that the only way for racial prejudice to no longer play a role in the decision of the death penalty is to completely remove capital punishment in the U.S.: With the long history of slavery, lynchings, convict leasing, segregation, racial oppression and now mass incarceration that has a much greater impact on racial minorities, surely states should eliminate any chance that racial prejudice might play a role. But there is only one way to do that: by eliminating the death penalty. (Bright) In the United States Constitution and pledge of allegiance, it promises equal justice for all. Yet, race and poverty continue to influence who will be condemned to death in the land of equal opportunity. Finality not justice, not liberty is the ultimate goal of the legal system in the United States. Capital punishment desensitizes society.. It teaches the American youth that society solves its problems with violence. It displays the absence of appreciation for life. And, as the equal justice giant, Martin Luther King Jr. once said, capital punishment is societys final statement that it will not forgive (qtd. in Bright). The United States should join 140 other nations in making final the directive: thou shalt not kill. Works Cited Bright, Stephen. Imposition of the death penalty upon the poor, racial minorities, the intellectually disabled and the mentally ill. New York University Law School, 2014. Web. 7 January 2017. Bright, Stephen. Race, Poverty, the Death Penalty, and the Responsibility of the Legal Profession. Seattle Journal for Social Justice 1.1 (2002): 12. Web. 7 January 2017. Bright, Stephen. The Failure to Achieve Fairness: Race and Poverty Continue to Influence Who Dies. Journal of Constitutional Law 11.1 (2008):16. Web. 7 January 2017. Cartagena, Juan. Latinos join call to end Floridas death penalty. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel, 10 December 2016. Web. 7 January 2017. Death Penalty 2015. Amnesty International. 6 April 2016. Web. 7 January 2017. Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, 2016. Web. 7 January 2017. Eberhardt, Jennifer. Looking Deathworthy. Psychological Science 17.5 (2006): 383-386. Web. 7 January 2017. The Case Against the Death Penalty. American Civil Liberties Union. 2012. Web. 7 January 2017. Too Broken to Fix. Fair Punishment. September 2016. Web. 7 January 2017. Vansickle, Abbie. A Deadly Question. The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 19 November 2016. Web. 7 January 2017. Von Drehle, David. The Death of the Death Penalty. Time. Time, 8 June 2015. Web. 7 January 2017.

My Last Duchess Essay

In the Poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning the heartless and haughty speaker explains a painting of his last wife while inadvertently revealing a darker side to his last marriage than one might view from they outside. The poem depicts a dense stream of conscious feel to it by using language and sentence structure common to conversation earlier to the time period it was written. The use of â€Å"’twas not† , and the English spelling of â€Å"favour† suggests the poem occurred in a time period in which husbands held power over their wives with such things as â€Å"nine-hundred-years-old names† and money. Browning’s great usage of dated speaking style creates a historical medium from which the event which slowly unfold. The poem is masked in a conversation with one person speaking in a dramatic monologue about his beloved portrait of the last duchess he married. The rhetorical questions â€Å"Who’d†¦ this sort of trifling† and end rhymes in the couplets throughout the poem â€Å"wall†¦ call† and â€Å"had†¦ glad† drive the poem from one line to the next . These techniques create motion in the poem much like the anger and arrogance that the Duke exerted towards his deceased wife to control her. The diction of this poem mirrors the force with which the Duke ruled his house as well as the social male norms at the time. The poem My Last Duchess is told from first point of view by a selfish man admiring his late wife’s smiling portrait. As the Duke entertains his guest, â€Å"you†, he tells of â€Å"My favour† after contemplating â€Å"how shall I say? † that his wife flirted with all she encountered. The biased first person account of the death of the duchess leads the reader into the center of the man’s thoughts and allows for a more in depth understanding of his desire for control toward his wife even in death. His dramatic monologue gives perhaps more information concerning the specifics of his involvement in wife’s death than he realizes. The quotations incorporated within the poem such as â€Å"Just this or that in you disgusts me† and â€Å"Her mantle laps over my Lady’s wrist too much† as well as the direct address â€Å"Sir, ’twas all one† to the guest shows the Dukes self-important attitude and his high regards for the thoughts which he believes others are thinking. The Duke boasts that he now holds the power to let others see the smile of the portrait that was meant only for him. He gets so enthralled with his own story of his wife he reveals that his â€Å"commands† ended the duchess’s smiles and possibly her life. The first person point of view for this poem explains further the thirst for power and self-love which the Duke honors himself with by controlling the women and people in his life of which he feels superior. Browning illustrates the complexity of the controlling Duke by showing his carelessness and arrogance by the words he uses to impress his guest. The â€Å"Duchess painted on the wall† has a â€Å"countenance† that only can be seen by the â€Å"command† of the Duke. When the Duke believes the Duchess finds interest in other people beside her husband, The Duke, â€Å"gave a command† which stopped â€Å"all† her smiles to everyone. When the Duke could not obtain complete power over and tame his young wife, she died in a manner which is not fully explained. The â€Å"Duke† with the â€Å"nine-hundred-year† old name is meeting with a man that is offering the Duke his â€Å"daughter† another young maiden for marriage. This offer of marriage is gladly accepted by the Duke no doubt is eager to attempt to tame yet another â€Å"sea-horse† of a wife. For the Duke this marriage is a trial of the subservience of women to their wealthy and powerful husbands. The details given in this poem bring forth the conclusion that the Duke got rid of his last Duchess and is now ready for a new one. The title of the poem My Last Duchess suggests that the Duke had had more than one Duchess. Had the poem illustrated the Dukes first wife it could have been titled My First Duchess. The startling â€Å"command† line toward the end of the poem lets the reader realize that this man has the power to make a woman be remembered by nothing more than a portrait controlled by the master of the house. This poem has themes commonly found in the local color movement and associated with feminism. Browning gives the audience a picture of the dark and distorted beginning of a new couple and marriage.