Abstract In this paper, a book report relates the aspects of environmentally conscious ideas about waste and recycling within the 21st century in 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things' by William McDonough. The writer discusses that through re-usability and new techniques in recycling, modern industry must reform markets and production methods to help create a far more reusable standard for products to help preserve the ecology of the Earth.
From the Paper "This book report presents the various environmental and ecological issues that arise in Cradle to Cradle By William McDonough. By examining the main theme of 'waste-less' industry in McDonough's book, one can realize the importance of recycling in the manufacturing process. By re-evaluating the "new industrial revolution" that is bound within this book, McDonough makes a compelling case for a new approach to waste and recycling in the 21st century. The integration of environmentally cooperative production in the new millennium is the scope of McDonough's book, as it proclaims a new approach to industry and ecology."
Abstract To understand the point of the humor in "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, it is necessary to examine the point of the story itself. All of Vonnegut's books touch on broad social issues in a rather cartoonish way that serves a much darker and difficult purpose than what they appear to address. Like Breakfast of Champions, and Hocus Pocus, Cat's Cradle, is a humorous take on the organizations and social structures that the world holds as absolutes with the angle that such things do not exist - all is arbitrary. In this work, we find that there is a brilliant combination of lampoon (in the form of the polarized roles taken by the two friends who created the island nation dictatorial politics and religion, Bokononism; which are intended to oversimplify the arbitrariness of politics and religion) and of black humor (which is clearly marked in the violence, deprivation, and oppression that are used only to perpetrate the lie that is the society). Irony, perhaps, is the constant of every event and passage in this book. It is irony that makes us understand that the humor in the story is a rather caustic, disbelieving, and disenchanting look at our own and every other society.
Abstract This paper examines the novel, ?Cat's Cradle?, by Kurt Vonnegut, written at the height of the Cold War when most Americans lived in fear of a fiery nuclear apocalypse. Vonnegut presents a different but equally terrifying end, a world encased in ice. It discusses how one of the novel's themes is how human irresponsibility can contribute to this icy end. It examines how Vonnegut uses the major and minor characters in "Cat's Cradle" to reflect on the consequences of human irresponsibility and how, throughout the novel, Vonnegut presents characters whose irresponsibility helps bring much of life on earth to an end.
From the Paper "Despite his small stature, Newt is the most mature and well adjusted of the Hoenikker children. Still, Newt remains focused on the major disappointments of his childhood. The fact that he found neither cat nor cradle in the tangle of strings presented by his father causes Newt to believe in the lack of meaning in all human life. He thus becomes an easy target for the Russian spy Zinka, who pretends to love him in order to get to his share of the ice-nine. At the apocalypse, Newt remains unwilling to confront the horrors of the icy apocalypse that he helped to usher. Instead, he focuses on scavenging for paint, and on turning inward and coping through his art."
Abstract This essay discusses the use of imagery, i.e., the use of words to represent things or ideas by sensory description, and theme in ?Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking.? The main theme of the poem is the concept of unification, division, and re-integration of the physical and the spiritual, as well as of the psyches of human beings.This theme is explored at length in the context of the poem.
From the Paper "Walt Whitman first published his poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" under the title "A Word Out of the Sea" in the 1860 edition of his collection Leaves of Grass. It was re-published under its current title in 1871.
"Whitman (1819-92) was one of the first distinctly "American" poets, and his work often revolved around themes of equality, democracy and freedom. In his lifetime, slavery saw its heyday and experienced its abolishment. At the same time, Whitman witnessed a new America emerging, an America which included the frontier West and industrialization."
Abstract This paper expounds on the main theme in "Cat's Cradle" that life is meaningless. The paper discusses Vonnegut's use of images, irony, and eccentric characters to express his theme about the meaningless of life. It also explains how Vonnegut relates this theme to religion, marriage, and almost everything else humans teach each other.
From the Paper "Clearly, Vonnegut is depicting a side of human nature that cannot deal with the truth, so it is fed and willingly believes the lies it is told by the ?religion.? In fact, "Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies" (172). In addition, to create more "zest" and "tang" within the lives of the people, Bokonon decides to have himself declared an outlaw. He emphasizes his belief that "A really good religion is a form of treason" (173). The legend of a holy man in the jungle and the tyrant in the city was the only thing that made the people happy. (174) Perhaps the most striking example of this theme is the last scene of the book in which Bokonon writes in the final sentence of his book that if he were a younger man, he would "make a statue of himself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who" (287). Again, we are shown Vonnegut's opinion regarding the power of religion. Through the willingness of the people to accept Bokonon, Vonnegut is asking us to search our own lives for such blind faith."
Abstract This paper explains that, in the book "Cradle of Violence", Murray Strauss exposes child abuse in the home, which is evident in society today. The author points out that Strauss suggests that children who are abused by family members have a higher probability of becoming violent offenders and abusers themselves. The paper relates statistical research supports his arguments.
From the Paper "Watching the news on television provides a glimpse into contemporary local and world affairs. It has become apparent that regardless of the time of day reports on violent crimes can be found when flipping from station to station. For some viewers the images are just part of every day life when glued to the tube, playing video games, surfing the net, and/or watching home movies. For others, it is a constant reminder of how dysfunctional and abusive some people really are."
Abstract This paper discusses how Kurt Vonnegut's novels such as "Cat's Cradle" and "Slaughterhouse Five" have a reputation both as great literary classics and great works of underground fiction. It looks at how "Slaughterhouse Five" is his most famous novel and also regarded his most personal, as it was based on his experiences as a prisoner of war in Germany during the Allied firebombing of Dresden in 1945. It also discusses how Vonnegut is credited with helping to elevate the genre of science fiction, once considered a staple of pulp magazine racks, to that of high art and how "Cat's Cradle" tells the tale of scientists trying to create 'ice-nine,' a crystal that could turn all water solid and thus destroy all life on earth.
From the Paper "Vonnegut is credited with helping to elevate the genre of science fiction, once considered a staple of pulp magazine racks, to that of high art. Cat's Cradle tells the tale of scientists trying to create 'ice-nine,' a crystal that could turn all water solid and thus destroy all life on the earth. In 1963, Cat's Cradle slowly developed a readership as Cold War Americans were increasingly receptive to a book that showed the dangerous potential of science and technology to develop faster than ethics and morality ("Novelist Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84," CNN.com, 2007, p.1) The novel, takes its title from an Eskimo game in which children try to snare the sun with string (Smith, 2007, p.1). Although its first printing sold only 500 copies, it has become a staple of English classes all over America today (Smith, 2007, p.1)."
Abstract This paper examines chemical and biological weapons, by defining them, defining their use in past wars and their use today. It illustrates the repetition of history in the correlation between historical use of mass destruction weapons and today. The paper uses Vonnegut's novel "Cat's Cradle" as an example to poses a scenario in which an ultimate chemical weapon (ice-nine) is used on soldiers. The paper shows that the greed in the novel results from the creation of chemical and biological weapons, which threaten to tear apart the world, which it eventually does, leaving a barren frosty wasteland.
From the Paper "For the last century, the use of chemical and biological weapons has stood in the back of people's minds as an impersonal and distant horror. This is especially true in the United States, which did not see the poisonous clouds over its battlefields or the sight of businessmen choking to death on its subways like Europe and Japan did. This has changed in recent times, with cases of anthrax continuing to arise from within the bounds of America. Though this danger of chemical and biological weapons is not anywhere near the proportions seen in the novel Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, it has shown Americans that the threat and destructive power of chemical and biological weapons is valid. Now more than ever it seems that more measures need to be taken to stop the production and use of deadly chemical and biological weapons."
Abstract This paper examines the book "An Evil Cradling" by Brian Keenan which relates his story as a hostage of Shi?ite militiamen in Beirut for four and a half years. It discusses how his persuasive style invites the reader into this story: To the scene, to the feelings and to a world of inner strength from which Brian Keenan's survival in a world of terror and violence comes. It shows how the book is an heartening and stimulating experience and how in the face of utter fear and despair the human psyche has mechanisms such as humor and warmth for a fellow human being, which sustain us. It looks at how Keenan's sanity was retained by his ability to retreat into his mind-his thoughts and dreams gave strength and is abilityto step outside of himself and the situation and become an observer, attempting to understand but refusing to let his mind become part of it.
From the Paper "Keenan deliberates that to be truly humanized it is necessary to share his experience honestly with another person. He sees that this means in its entirety, including the thoughts, which trouble him and the irrational musings. When madness hovers, created by fear, it is the imaginings of the mind that saves McCarthy but only as Keenan leads him through an experience of imagining a room and the minute details of all it contains. Humor is a way of distancing themselves from the violence- after the particularly savage beating of Keenan by Abed they resort to humor as a way of keeping control. They identify the guard Saafi as having something that makes him human- a sense of humor."
Abstract The paper shows that in the novels "Grendel" by John Gardner and "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, the characters are similar in that they both are on a journey in a bid to understand human knowledge. The paper discusses Grendel, the monster's sources of information on human knowledge, the development of this knowledge in the form of understanding concepts such as beauty, as well as the way he uses this knowledge. The paper then discusses the protagonist in "Cat's Cradle" whose main search for knowledge entails writing a book about the day when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
From the Paper "Thus, Vonnegut raises a valid point about human knowledge in the twentieth century. The ever-increasing pace of scientific development as well as industrialization brought an explosive element to the already existing conflicts of religion, class and international entities. While it is true that such advances have brought a better standard of living to many, there is also the frightening component of increased human suffering.
Thus, through the person of Felix and his children, Vonengut condemns the scientific community that discovered antibiotics, but that also brought about destruction through the atomic bomb, nerve gas, automatic firearms, and other extremely efficient ways of destroying human lives. Thus, through a fictional search of knowledge, the reader is shown a knowledge of human reality that is chilling to contemplate."
Abstract The essay looks at the different functions memory plays in various poems appearing in the different editions of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass". In the poems "The Sleepers", "Out of the Cradle" and "The Artilleryman's Vision"; the functions vary as the themes, methodologies, and identities shift. The essay traces the development of Whitman's career and notes the differences in memory's presentation and implications.
From the Paper "Conventional wisdom often insinuates that memory is a replay of previously experienced data. It is more appropriate to think of the act of remembering as a conscious performance in which the mind weaves fragments of truth with subjective reconstructions on the basis of current motivations. Rarely is memory an accurate portrait of objective reality. The significance of a particular memory is further complicated when consciously employed in artistic creation. Generalizations of meaning must be thrown away; the particular context defines the function."
Tags: civil, history, remembering, style, verse, war, stream, consciousness, self, identity, death, loss
This paper discusses that our ancient counterparts used oracles, prophesies and curses as part of their religious beliefs and observances, which served more function than modern religion.
2,295 words (approx. 9.2 pages), 7 sources, 2002, $ 70.95
Abstract This paper provides an overview of some of the practices and belief among different ancient groups, focusing on the traditional cradle of civilization and the classical world. The author points that oracles are always associated with a particular place, prophecies might be generated anywhere and a curse is simply a way of getting the Gods to do one's dirty work for one. The author concludes that when we open the paper to read our horoscope, we behave in the same manner as the ancient people finding their way to the oracle at Delphi.
Table of Contents
A Brief Survey of Oracles in the Ancient World
A Brief Survey of Prophesies in the Ancient World
A Few Curses
Conclusion
From the Paper "A corollary to this fact is that oracles are in general associated with a single god or goddess, since deities tended to be tied to certain places or kinds of places, whereas a person might serve as a prophet, or receive prophecies from, a number of different gods or other divinities.
The fact that one had to travel to an oracle to receive wisdom from it rather than having the gods come to one to deliver prophetic information may have granted to oracles a greater sense of authority. This is related to basic economic arguments about scarcity: If prophesies could be had anywhere, but oracles were limited to a few places ? some requiring expensive sacrifices ? then oracles would often be privileged over prophesy."
Abstract William Blake's "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" were written between 1788 and 1801 and contain a collection of nineteen individual poems and twenty seven poems, respectively. This paper looks at whether Blake's works could still be enjoyed and understood if the individual poems within the collections were read independently and not within the context of the collection. The paper uses evidence from the poems to show that ultimately, the poems should be read as part of the collection to be appreciated.
From the Paper "The individual poems do not describe the whole of the human experience because they approach life from the perspective of either innocence or experience. In order to appreciate Blake's comment on the human condition, they must be read in the context of the collection as a whole. "Songs of Experience" is a retort to the "Songs of Innocence." Together they capture the loss of security each of us experiences as we move from childhood into adulthood, and the longing for the innocence we leave behind. Blake's treatment of this state of being endures because it a universal expression of our common nostalgia."
Abstract Iraq has been the cradle of civilizations and seat of political unrest. This paper discusses Iraq within the context of society, culture, politics, economics and current affairs.
Abstract This paper is on General Douglas MacArthur. General MacArthur lived his entire life for the army from cradle to grave. He served an aide in Theodore Roosevelt's White House. MacArthur gained his first real measure of fame during War World I. As an old soldier he faded away from the public eye until his death in 1964.
