Abstract
The paper reveals that everything composed of ordinary familiar atoms like stars, planets, moons, comets and the whole lot from the tip of a needle to a mountain makes up about 4% of the universe. The paper then explains that the vast majority of the composition of the universe is a mysterious substance called dark energy and the remaining 22% is made up of the equally mysterious dark matter. The paper notes that dark matter does not give off light so we can't see it; however we know its there since it exerts a gravitational pull on the ordinary matter that we do see.

From the Paper
"Everything composed of ordinary familiar atoms like stars, planets, moons, comets and the whole lot from the tip of a needle to a mountain makes up about 4% of the universe. The vast majority of the composition of the universe is a mysterious substance called dark energy and the remaining 22% is made up of the equally mysterious dark matter. Dark matter does not give off light so we can't see it; however we know its there since it exerts a gravitational pull on the ordinary matter that we do see. Scientists have been aware of the possibility of the existence of dark matter since the 1930, however its composition remains unknown."

Tags:dark matter, universe, article

Abstract
This paper examines the Greek mythological master piece "Sailing In The Wine Dark Sea" written by Thomas Cahill, with special reference to educational issues being derived from the Greek civilization. The book reflects Greek civilization being primordial in such a way that the totality of human culture seems to originate from within it. Hence, along with the rich ancient heritage of art, philosophy, and semantics the Greeks passed down a number of repulsive elements in the field of education and its acquisition.

Contents:
Abstract
"Sailing In The Wine Dark Sea" -Why the Greeks Matter
Historical Issues In Modern Education
Conclusion

From the Paper
"This eminence and brilliance of the Greek civilization has been admired, acknowledged and elucidated in a tour that spans warriors, politicians, thinkers, playwrights and a pantheon of deities. Thus, Thomas Cahill has illuminated the epitomes of a Greek experience by touching all aspects of their society and providing a Greek link to every aspect of our contemporary life. Cahill's scrutinized the history for the object of developing a better understanding for our contemporary world. He breathes life into the dead and the bygone by considering similar routes trodden a million years ago, so that scholars can carry out a comparative study and understand what led to the present consequences. In this way they can get a better understanding of how men and women, our culture, semantics, society and intellect has been molded the way it has. Also, this book provides a reference point, a justification and a substantiation of present scenarios and helps us in eliminating the root of issues that hinder the acquisition of education and issues historically seeded therein. "

Tags:western, society, art, culture, philosophy, language, civilization

Abstract
The paper relates the storyline of "Heart of Darkness" and illustrates how it is primarily aimed at addressing the true nature of colonialism, as well as demonstrating humanity's fallible nature. The paper describes how "Heart of Darkness" takes the reader on a journey into the human soul, where we discover that we can be just as 'animalistic' and 'savage' as our black counterparts.

Outline:
Introduction
The Heart of the Matter
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Often described as one of the best short novels written in English, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1902) narrates a highly symbolic story that was based on the author's personal experience. At the time of its writing (1902), for example, Polish-born Conrad had mastered the English language, acquired British citizenship, and had served for some 10 years in the British Merchant Navy, where he had achieved the rank of captain. As such, Conrad traveled extensively around the globe, including Australia, Asia, and India, but also including Africa, thus basing Heart of Darkness on personal experience. Besides containing numerous symbols, however, Conrad's work is a story within a story, therefore telling not only about a voyage into the seat of the African bush, but also recounting the journey of a person into a new state of maturity."

Tags:colonialism, whites, blacks, natives, Europeans, Kurtz, Marlow

Abstract
This paper examines Carl Sagan's clear and lucid style of writing which lends itself well to understanding the diverse number of issues as detailed in ""The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark." This paper discusses the basic theme of Sagan's novel which is the defense of technology as a necessity to improve man's existence on this planet. The writer of this paper also touches on Sagan's provision of figures which communicate the number of people who remain in the dark about matters of science.

From the Paper
"Carl Sagan uses a clear and lucid style of writing which lends itself well to our understanding of the diverse number of issues he discusses. Perhaps the best way that Sagan creates such a clear understanding of his ideas in The Demon Haunted World is his art of using words effectively. From the beginning of the work his explanations are
handled with a sort of empathy so as not to demean the intelligence of true believers. Not once does he ever write anything to suggest that people who believe in the various pseudosciences are asinine. He simply shows the evidence in an unbiased, objective manner."

Tags:space, science, fiction, non-fiction, medicine, technology, book, review

Abstract
This paper gives brief summaries of several authors' interpretations of Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness". The paper points out that each of these perspectives grants us an insight into the novel that might otherwise be overlooked--namely that mankind is a generally weak creature, especially when it comes to matters of power and greed.

From the Paper
"R. V. Cassill observes that the point of view "Heart of Darkness" lets us know that we are "watching the jungle through the eyes of a special and specially conditioned observer" (Cassill xxv). The story achieves its success because the images do not just appear to us, we recognize that it is the "mind of our narrator that has emphasized the riotousness of the vegetation and the kingly authority of the trees, which, to a different observer, might look like so much lumber" (xxv). The significance of the narrator's point of view is that it reminds us "that at the heart of all experience coming through our senses there is a regulating and evaluating self" (xv). In other words, the narrator is doing more than telling us a story; he is telling us how he is reacting to what he sees as well. This allows us to understand his character on a more personal level."

Tags:pessimism, narration, marlow, terror, evil, detachment, symbolism, nightmares, congo

Abstract
This paper discusses why the study of the Ancient Greeks matter to the citizens of the West in the twenty-first century. Specifically, the paper analyzes Thomas Cahill's work, "Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter" and describes the arguments that Cahill presents as to why we should study the Ancient Greeks. The paper also touches on the negative effects of the Greek legacy as well as the positive.

From the Paper
"Greece was an undeniably patriarchal society, and women were excluded from political enfranchisement. In understanding the Greek assumptions regarding the warrior-citizen ideal, Cahill believes we may better unburden ourselves of our own obsession with violence as a benchmark of a society's greatness. The presence of both Zeus and Demeter is there: "If Demeter takes us back to an agricultural way of life that imagined Earth and its manifestations as aspects of maternal nurturing, the strident gods of Olympus, challenging and overthrowing one another, males always primed for battle and sexual conquest, females seizing control only by wheedling indirection, are projections of a warrior culture that set victory in armed combat above all other goals--or at least seemed to, for there are always, deep within any society, dreams that run in another, even in a contrary, direction from its articulated purposes" (Cahill 5). We cannot undo the negative effects of the Greek legacy if we do not strive to understand the complexities of Greek civilization, its obsessions and its gifts."

Tags:society, civilization, legend, myth

Abstract
This paper contends that Satan is the true heroic character in "Paradise Lost". Specifically, the paper looks at how Satan is a true believer in his cause and has faith in himself and his allies in Hell even though he faces terrible odds. The paper also discusses how Satan throws himself into battle with fervor and how he dares to question God and His will no matter what the personal cost. The paper maintains that these are the true qualities of a hero.

From the Paper
"In Paradise Lost Milton compares Satan to "several figures from Classical and biblical mythology" (Butler 135) to show the possible "faulty heroism and punishment" (135) of the fallen angel, an example of this is the heroic virtues that are shared with Achilles. Satan was a warrior much like the great Achilles, they both had ambition and pride and both failed in their efforts, both were sent to Hell (Steadman 19). Yet Satan is not seen as heroic as Achilles is. Heroic virtues differed from ordinary virtues; heroic virtues were defined as super human, unequalled, or extraordinary (Steadman xiv). Satan's war in Heaven had involved the use of force, a grand force that failed terribly."

Tags:hero, god, adam, eve

Abstract
This paper shows that creating an accurate setting for a book is as important, if not more important, than the depiction of characters. It analyzes the settings of these novels all which deal with so called "primitive" conditions as their subject matter. The writer shows that the stories do not take place in a thriving modern metropolis, but in areas well removed from the western eye.

From the Paper
"A detailed depiction of the architecture in a scene often adds to the credibility of the story. In the books Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, architecture is used not only as a scene setter but also as a testament to socio-economic values and cultural beliefs. Much of the architecture described belongs to the indigenous people of the stories or the Caucasians who were forced to act as if they were natives because of the lack of "modern" conveniences."

Tags:setting, novel, backdrop, plot, scene

Abstract
This paper explains that the central themes of Kiran Desai's novel "The Inheritance of Loss" include globalization, unbridled capitalism and economic disparity. The author points that Desai's exploration of these themes is unyielding, and her conclusions are dispiriting as she uncovers the gruesome truths about the lives of the people that the comfortable classes learn to ignore. The paper underscores that Desai's novel grapples with the issue of racial self-hatred and relates that story of the judge in the book is studded with humiliations, but the crux of the matter is his reaction to the daily degradations. The paper concludes that this novel, with its unyielding gaze on the intricacies of the relationships between occupier and occupied, educated and illiterate, westerner and colonized, and rich and poor, is a damning indictment of a system that has relentlessly crushed a large portion of the world's population.

From the Paper
"While the judge's response to the humiliations and degradations that are the natural offspring of colonialism is one of racial self-hatred, his granddaughter's tutors, Lola and Noni, are the very embodiment of the laughable attempt to appropriate a foreign culture. The two tutors are far less menacing than the judge, and they contribute to the book's subtle humor. Desai introduces these two characters by making note of their cottage's name--Mon Ami. The very "French-ness" of that ludicrous name is surprising, and one is left to wonder what inspired the two aspiring socialites to use such a name for a cottage in the Himalayas."

Tags:capitalism resentment, racial self-hatred, daughters, dark skin

Abstract
The work contains an analytical description of the sonnets of William Shakespeare- including substantive breakdown of content, subject matter and historical influences. It includes actual citation of various key lines in the poems.

From the Paper
"The sonnets of Shakespeare, commonly mistaken as odes of love to a young woman, can be divided into three main sections, all of which contain the contextual message of love, praise, and advice to a beautiful young man and his journey into his older years. The introduction (1-17) speaks of the beauty of the young man; he is so good looking, so worthy, that he must procreate to sustain such a superior lineage. It can be said that this fair young lad "grows up" in sonnets 18 to 125, wherein the author boasts that the man will live eternally in these words. Though not actually considered a story in the linear fashion, the Sonnets weave an intricate pattern of repetition and contradiction that suggests the beauty of life and the pratfalls than invariably must be met."

Tags:dark, lady, shakespeare, sonnets