Galileo Church v. Hero Essay -- Religion Philosophy Essays

Galileo Church v. Hero It is a volatile point in history: the intersection of science and religion at the height of the Inquisition; it is a time when the Church reigns and a man, a physicist, must choose life or death, himself or science. Galileo Galilei's legendary dilemma and the circumstances surrounding it are presented in Bertolt Brecht's Galileo from a perspective that is clearly criticizing institutions with such controlà ³in this case, the Catholic churchà ³while reminding us that men are simply men, no matter how heroic their actions appear. These issues are expounded throughout the play; however, Scene 11 has the most significant role in Galileo's development, as it simultaneously reveals the extent of the Church's control and humanizes Galileo in just a few lines. Despite his courage to venture into unexplored realms of science and thought, Galileo is not a hero. He is only a man. Scene 11 is the shortest scene in the play and one of only three scenes in which the title character does not appear. Yet it is here that Galileo is made completely human. In the quest for a hero, one might ignore his almost hedonistic desire for food, thought, and fine wine and the sacrifices that he makes to acquire money. These characteristics of Galileo are revealed early in the play, when he plagiarizes another man's telescope invention in order to get a salary raise from the city (Scenes 1 and 2), and then again in Scene 11 when the Pope says, "He has more enjoyment in him than any other man I ever saw. He loves eating and drinking and thinking. To excess. He indulges in thinking bouts! He cannot say no to an old wine or a new thought" ( Brecht 109). However, one cannot ignore a hero's cowardice in the face of physical pain. I... ... Nobody has planned a part for us beyond this wretched one on a worthless star. There is no meaning in our misery'" (Brecht 84). The people rely on the Church to lead them to a better life in heaven; their faith is all that they know. It is the Pope's duty to preserve the unity that comes from shared faith, and because he is controlled by that which he governs, he cannot refuse to punish Galileo for fear of social collapse. Brecht cleverly uses Scene 11 to plant seeds of thought in the minds of his audience members. Through the controversy of Galileo's life and the circumstances surrounding his session with the Inquisition, Galileo explores both the dangers of institutional control and the folly of elevating men to a heroic status. One will only be disappointed when both prove fallible. Bibliography Brecht, Bertolt. Galileo. New York: Grove Press, 1966.

Lewis’ Babbitt as a Conformist

In 1922 Sinclair Lewis published the book which won the Nobel Prize portraying the very special personage whose surname – Babbitt – became a household word, a symbol of middle–class Philistine. For the first time we meet George Follanbee Babbitt at his bed going to awaken and dreaming of the fairy child. And here, from the very beginning of his novel Lewis gives occasion to an attentive reader to realize that something is wrong with this 46 years old businessman. Babbitt likes to escape from reality which means the reality is not too attractive to him.He is often becoming angry and irritated by everything and everybody – by sullen wife, by impossible children. And then in the course of novel Lewis gradually expose a tragedy of a man who is in deep disbalance with himself. George Babbitt has obtained all required to match precisely the template of social expectation, except entire comfort with it. Distracted by the feeling that there must be more, Babbitt s tarts pushing limits. But he has no choice. He could not help but be what he was.Near the end of the novel, after a brief rebellion which included a furtive, adulterous love affair he sits in the train returning back to Zenith and suddenly realizes that he couldn't escape as he is able to do only things which all could do. He failed to tear himself away from the vicious circle of Philistinism. That is his cardinal problem. It is the typical problem of a middling person who lives own life without passion or satisfaction to his heart's content and going with the stream. However Babbitt is not stripped of imagination, and he knows for sure his own weakness and the dismals.The personality of Babbitt is totally controlled by the force of conformity. It is so dominant that even after Babbitt realizes the stifling nature of the society in which he lives he is powerless to change his fate as a member of conformist society. Pressure to conform lies in all aspects of Babbitt's life. Relations hips, family, social life, and business are all based on his ability to conform to Zenith's preset standards of thought and action. All of his thoughts are those of society, and thoughts that are not of society are ridiculed hence they are frowned upon by him.Babbitt works simply to raise his social status by means of increasing his material worth. He goes about his normal routine praising modern technology, material possessions and social status only as ways to measure the significance of an individual. He belongs to many popular clubs, the purposes of which he does not even completely understand. Why does Babbitt do these things? He does these things to perform for the other members of society. He does everything expected of him even if he does not expect those things of himself.Babbitt does these things in hope of improving his social status. This conformist man is exactly who Sinclair Lewis wanted to show the reader, a man whose life is based on the ideals and standards of other s. The goals set by society are economic and material worth, social standing, and conservative thought. Since Babbitt has achieved, at least in part, these goals he is in a sense fooled into believing he is truly happy. But†¦ Every minute and calorie not needed for plowing, sawing and bolting can be spent playing the cello, gazing at the stars, learning to draw, fishing, making love.If only someone started thinking about it, the future could be full of both material wealth for everyone and more, also for everyone, more of what the materially wealthy George Babbitt knew he lacked when he declared, that never in his life he done a thing which he wanted to do. By his George Babbitt Lewis shows us how we oughtn't to live, he gives us a vivid specimen how dissimulation and sanctimony could ruin a person's own life. The image of Babbitt is unforgettable, and the book is for sure worth the highest praise.

African Americans Status in 1890 Essay

There were many problems that African Americans faced in the 1890’s some of which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and earned many rights but still live with the hardships that they had in the 1890’s. The status of African Americans at this time in United States history was not good. Blacks had a very hard time living especially in the south. The problems that blacks dealt with were primarily found in the south where they were not accepted. Segregation became huge across the entire south after the Supreme Court ruled that â€Å"Separate but equal† was legal in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. Everything was separate but it was almost never equal. Whites always had things better than African Americans did. Blacks could not ride in the same train cars as whites. The national government gave blacks the right to vote but southern state governments took away that right through the use of poll taxes and literacy tests. A big problem that blacks faced was trying to stay alive. Many blacks were killed for no reason during this period of time. Jim Crow laws were set up to keep blacks from enjoying the same rights and privileges that whites enjoyed everyday. The Ku Klux Klan was set up by whites who had hatred for blacks. Blacks in the south feared for their lives and their families’ lives everyday. It was certain that African Americans would be confronted by racism each and everyday in the south. Relationships between blacks and whites have greatly improved in the last century but things still are not perfect and it is unlikely that they ever will be. The greatest changes were made during the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s when blacks stood up for themselves and gained their rights as American citizens. Laws were finally passed that made literacy tests and poll taxes illegal. Segregation came to an end after Brown v. Board of Education turned over the ruling made in Plessy v. Ferguson. There was no longer â€Å"Separate but equal†, it was now just equal. Although many big steps have been taken to stopping racism and segregation it still exists in our lives today. African Americans still see racism everyday even though they are now doing many things with whites. Blacks and whites have been able to peacefully interact with each other for decades but you still see newspapers talking about segregation and racism. The overall improvement has been very significant. Comparing today’s society to the 1890’s show a lot of good change yet there are still problems in our society with race relations.

Biography of Ernesto Che Guevara, Revolutionary Leader

Biography of Ernesto Che Guevara, Revolutionary Leader Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (June 14, 1928–October 9, 1967) was an Argentine physician and revolutionary who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution. He also served in the government of Cuba after the communist takeover before leaving Cuba to try to stir up rebellions in Africa and South America. He was captured and executed by Bolivian security forces in 1967. Today, he is considered by many to be a symbol of rebellion and idealism, while others see him as a murderer. Fast Facts: Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Known For: Key figure in the Cuban RevolutionAlso Known As: CheBorn: June 14, 1928 in Rosario,  Santa Fe province,  ArgentinaParents: Ernesto Guevara Lynch, Celia de la Serna y LlosaDied: October 9, 1967  in La Higuera,  Vallegrande,  BoliviaEducation: University of Buenos AiresPublished Works: The Motorcycle Diaries, Guerrilla Warfare, The African Dream, The Bolivian DiaryAwards and Honors:  Knight Grand Cross of the  Order of the Southern CrossSpouse(s): Hilda Gadea, Aleida March  Children: Hilda, Aleida, Camilo, Celia, ErnestoNotable Quote: If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine. Early Life Ernesto was born into a middle-class family in Rosario, Argentina. His family was somewhat aristocratic and could trace their lineage to the early days of Argentine settlement. The family moved around a great deal while Ernesto was young. He developed severe asthma early in life; the attacks were so bad that witnesses were occasionally scared for his life. He was determined to overcome his ailment, however, and was very active in his youth, playing rugby, swimming, and doing other physical activities. He also received an excellent education. Medicine In 1947, Ernesto moved to Buenos Aires to care for his elderly grandmother. She died shortly thereafter and he began medical school. Some believe he was driven to study medicine because of his inability to save his grandmother. He was a believer in the idea that a patients state of mind is as important as the medicine he or she is given. He remained very close to his mother and stayed fit through exercise, although his asthma continued to plague him. He decided to take a vacation and put his studies on hold. The Motorcycle Diaries At the end of 1951, Ernesto set off with his good friend Alberto Granado on a trip north through South America. For the first part of the trip, they had a Norton motorcycle, but it was in poor repair and had to be abandoned in Santiago. They traveled through Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela, where they parted ways. Ernesto continued to Miami and returned to Argentina from there. Ernesto kept notes during his trip, which he subsequently made into a book, The Motorcycle Diaries, which was made into an award-winning movie in 2004. The trip showed him the poverty and misery all throughout Latin America and he wanted to do something about it, even if he did not know what. Guatemala Ernesto returned to Argentina in 1953 and finished medical school. He left again almost immediately, however, heading up the western Andes and traveling through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia before reaching Central America. He eventually settled for a while in Guatemala, at the time experimenting with significant land reform under President Jacobo Arbenz. It was about this time that he acquired his nickname Che, an Argentine expression meaning (more or less) hey there. When the CIA overthrew Arbenz, Che tried to join a brigade and fight, but it was over too quickly. Che took refuge in the Argentine Embassy before securing safe passage to Mexico. Mexico and Fidel In Mexico, Che met and befriended Raà ºl Castro, one of the leaders in the assault on the Moncada Barracks in Cuba in 1953. Raà ºl soon introduced his new friend to his brother Fidel, leader of the 26th of July movement which sought to remove Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista from power. Che had been looking for a way to strike a blow against the imperialism of the United States that he had seen firsthand in Guatemala and elsewhere in Latin America; he eagerly signed on for the revolution, and Fidel was delighted to have a doctor. At this time, Che also became close friends with fellow revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos. Transition to Cuba Che was one of 82 men who piled onto the yacht Granma in November 1956. The Granma, designed for only 12 passengers and loaded with supplies, gas, and weapons, barely made it to Cuba, arriving on December 2. Che and the others made for the mountains but were tracked down and attacked by security forces. Fewer than 20 of the original Granma soldiers made it into the mountains; the two Castros, Che, and Camilo were among them. Che had been wounded, shot during the skirmish. In the mountains, they settled in for a long guerrilla war, attacking government posts, releasing propaganda, and attracting new recruits. Che in the Revolution Che was an important player in the  Cuban Revolution, perhaps second only to Fidel Castro himself. Che was clever, dedicated, determined, and tough, though his asthma was a constant torture for him. He was promoted to  comandante  and given his own command. He saw to their training himself and indoctrinated his soldiers with communist beliefs. He was organized and demanded discipline and hard work from his men. He occasionally allowed foreign journalists to visit his camps and write about the revolution. Ches column was very active, participating in several engagements with the Cuban army in 1957 and 1958. Batistas Offensive In the summer of 1958, Batista sent large forces of soldiers into the mountains, seeking to round up and destroy the rebels once and for all. This strategy was a huge mistake and backfired badly. The rebels knew the mountains well and ran circles around the army. Many of the soldiers, demoralized, deserted or even switched sides. At the end of 1958, Castro decided it was time for the knockout punch. He sent three columns, one of which was Ches, into the heart of the country. Santa Clara Che was assigned to capture the strategic city of Santa Clara. On paper, it looked like suicide. There were some 2,500 federal troops there, with tanks and fortifications. Che himself only had roughly 300 ragged men, poorly armed and hungry. Morale was low among the Cuban soldiers, however, and the populace of Santa Clara mostly supported the rebels. Che arrived on December 28 and the fighting began. By December 31, the rebels controlled the police headquarters and the city but not the fortified barracks. The soldiers inside refused to fight or come out, and when Batista heard of Ches victory he decided the time had come to leave.  Santa Clara was the largest single battle of the Cuban Revolution  and the last straw for Batista. After the Revolution Che and the other rebels rode into Havana in triumph and began setting up a new government. Che, who had ordered the execution of several traitors during his days in the mountains, was assigned (along with Raà ºl) to round up, bring to trial, and execute former Batista officials. Che organized hundreds of trials of Batista cronies, most of them in the army or police forces. Most of these trials ended in a conviction and execution. The international community was outraged, but Che didnt care: he was a true believer in the Revolution and in communism. He felt that an example needed to be made of those who had supported tyranny. Government Posts As one of the few men truly trusted by  Fidel Castro, Che was kept very busy in post-Revolution Cuba. He was made the head of the Ministry of Industry and head of the Cuban Bank. Che was restless, however, and he took long trips abroad as a sort of ambassador of the revolution to improve Cubas international standing. During Ches time in governmental office, he oversaw the conversion of much of Cubas economy to communism. He was instrumental in cultivating the relationship between the  Soviet Union  and Cuba and had played a part in trying to bring Soviet missiles to Cuba. This, of course, was a major factor in the  Cuban Missile Crisis. Chà © the Revolutionary In 1965, Che decided he was not meant to be a government worker, even one in a high post. His calling was revolution, and he would go and spread it around the world. He disappeared from public life (leading to incorrect rumors about a strained relationship with Fidel) and began plans for bringing about revolutions in other nations. The communists believed that Africa was the weak link in the western capitalist/imperialist stranglehold on the world, so Che decided to head to the Congo to support a revolution there led by Laurent Dà ©sirà © Kabila. Congo When Che had left, Fidel read a letter to all of Cuba in which Che declared his intention to spread revolution, fighting imperialism wherever he could find it. Despite Ches revolutionary credentials and idealism, the Congo venture was a total fiasco. Kabila proved unreliable, Che and the other Cubans failed to duplicate the conditions of the Cuban Revolution, and a massive mercenary force led by South African Mad Mike Hoare was sent to root them out. Che wanted to remain and die fighting as a martyr, but his Cuban companions convinced him to escape. All in all, Che was in Congo for about nine months and he considered it one of his greatest failures. Bolivia Back in Cuba, Che wanted to try again for another communist revolution, this time in Argentina. Fidel and the others convinced him that he was more likely to succeed in Bolivia. Che went to Bolivia in 1966. From the start, this effort was also a fiasco. Che and the 50 or so Cubans who accompanied him were supposed to get support from clandestine communists in Bolivia, but they proved unreliable and possibly were the ones who betrayed him. He was also up against the CIA, which was in Bolivia training Bolivian officers in counterinsurgency techniques. It wasnt long before the CIA knew Che was in the country and began monitoring his communications. The End Che and his ragged band scored some early victories against the Bolivian army in mid-1967. In August, his men were caught by surprise and one-third of his force was wiped out in a firefight; by October, he was down to only about 20 men and had little in the way of food or supplies. By now, the Bolivian government had posted a $4,000 reward for information leading to Che. That was a lot of money in those days in rural Bolivia. By the first week of October, Bolivian security forces were closing in on Che and his rebels. Death On October 7, Che and his men stopped to rest in the Yuro ravine. Local peasants alerted the army, who moved in. A firefight broke out, killing some rebels, and Che himself was injured in the leg. On October 8, he was captured alive, allegedly shouting out to his captors I am Che Guevara and worth more to you alive than dead. The army and CIA officers interrogated him that night, but he did not have much information to give out. With his capture, the rebel movement he headed was essentially over. On October 9, the order was given, and Che was executed, shot by Sergeant Mario Tern of the Bolivian Army. Legacy Che Guevara had a huge impact on his world, not only as a major player in the Cuban Revolution but also afterward, when he tried to export the revolution to other nations. He achieved the martyrdom that he so desired, and in doing so he became a larger-than-life figure. Che is one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. Many revere him, especially in Cuba, where his face is on the 3-peso note and every day schoolchildren vow to be like Che as part of a daily chant. Around the world, people wear t-shirts with his image on them, usually portraying a famous photo taken of Che in Cuba by photographer Alberto Korda (more than one person has noted the irony of hundreds of capitalists making money selling a famous image of a communist). His fans believe that he stood for freedom from imperialism, idealism, and a love for the common man and that he died for his beliefs. Many despise Che, however. They see him as a murderer for his time presiding over the execution of Batista supporters, criticize him as the representative of a failed communist ideology and deplore his handling of the Cuban economy. Around the world, people love or hate Che Guevara. Either way, they will not soon forget him. Sources Castaà ±eda, Jorge C.  Compaà ±ero: the Life and Death of Che Guevara. New York: Vintage Books, 1997.Coltman, Leycester.  The Real Fidel Castro.  New Haven and London: the Yale University Press, 2003.Sabsay, Fernando.  Protagonistas de Amà ©rica Latina, Vol. 2.  Buenos Aires: Editorial El Ateneo, 2006.

art reflection Essay

art reflection Essay art reflection Essay My assignment was to get five sketches of an animal of my choice from a magazine onto my sketch book. Then after that I had to get the sketches and show them to Mrs. Premo to get her approval. Once she gave me the okay she gave me tracing paper and I traced the sketches into a collage. After we have done that we go to the light tables to trace once more onto the final project paper. Then we go over that with pen and add the details to the final product. I ended up with at least three of our sketches on the final product in pen with shading and value and perception. Some new knowledge that I learned before starting the project was how to properly use a pen when shading. Mrs. Premo showed us how to use stippling, hatching, and cross hatching. That really helped me during my project because otherwise I would have not known how to shade. One way I planned my project was by drawing sketches in my sketch book and then I chose which drawing I would continue drawing. The media that I used wa s pen because that’s what our unit was about. I use many rough drafts before begging because if not then I would have most likely messed up on the hatching that I did. The first thing that I did to make this project was to first get five sketches of an animal from a magazine onto my sketch book. Then after that I had to get the sketches and show them to Mrs. Premo to get her approval. Once she gave her okay she gave me tracing paper and I traced the sketches into a collage. After I got done with that we go to the light tables to trace once more onto the final project paper. Then we go over that with pen and add the details to the final product. One part of the assignment that was hard was to choose an animal to draw because there was so many but that wasn’t the biggest problem it was trying to get the fur right because I did a cheetah. One thing I would change

The Origin of Wildfires and How They Are Caused

The Origin of Wildfires and How They Are Caused It is interesting to note that, of the four billion years of earths existence, conditions were not conducive for spontaneous wildfire until the last 400 million years. A naturally-occurring atmospheric fire did not have the chemical elements available until major several earth changes occurred. The earliest life forms emerged without needing oxygen (anaerobic organisms) to live about 3.5 billion years ago and lived in a carbon dioxide based atmosphere. Life forms that needed oxygen in small amounts (aerobic) came much later in the form of photosynthesizing blue-green algae and ultimately changed the earths atmospheric balance toward oxygen and away from carbon dioxide (co2). Photosynthesis increasingly dominated earths biology by initially creating and continuously increasing the earths percentage of oxygen in the air. Green plant growth then exploded and aerobic respiration became the biologic catalyst for terrestrial life. Around 600 million years ago and during the Paleozoic, conditions for natural combustion started developing with increasing speed. Wildfire Chemistry Fire needs fuel, oxygen, and heat to ignite and spread. Wherever forests grow, the fuel for forest fires is provided mainly by continued biomass production along with the resulting fuel load  of that vegetative growth. Oxygen is created in abundance by the photosynthesizing process of living green organisms so it is all around us in the air. All that is needed then is a source of heat to provide the exact chemistry combinations for a flame. When these natural combustibles (in the form of wood, leaves, brush) reach 572 º, gas in the steam given off reacts with oxygen to reach its flash point with a burst of flame. This flame then preheats surrounding fuels. In turn, other fuels heat up and the fire grows and spreads. If this spreading process is not controlled, you have a wildfire or uncontrolled forest fire. Depending on the geographic condition of the site and the vegetative fuels present, you might call these brush fires, forest fires, sage field fires, grass fires, woods fires, peat fires, bush fires, wildland fires, or veld fires. How Do Forest Fires Start? Naturally caused forest fires are usually started by dry lightning where little to no rain accompanies a stormy weather disturbance. Lightning randomly strikes the earth an average of 100 times each second or 3 billion times every year and has caused some of the most notable wildland fire disasters  in the western United States. Most lightning strikes occur in the North American southeast and southwest. Because they often occur in isolated locations with limited access, lightning fires burn more acres than human-caused starts. The average 10-year total of U.S. wildfire acres burned and caused by humans is 1.9 million acres where  2.1 million acres burned are lightning-caused. Still, human fire activity is the primary cause of wildfires, with nearly ten times the start rate of natural starts. Most of these human-caused fires are accidental, usually caused by carelessness or inattention by campers, hikers, or others traveling through wildland or by debris and garbage burners. Some are intentionally set by arsonists. Some human-caused fires are started to reduce heavy fuel buildup and used as a forest management tool. This is called a controlled or prescribed burn and used for wildfire fire fuel reduction, wildlife habitat enhancement, and debris clearing. They are not included in the above statistics and ultimately reduce wildfire numbers by reducing conditions that contribute to wildfire and forest fires. How Does Wildland Fire Spread? The three primary classes of wildland fires are surface, crown, and ground fires. Each classification  intensity depends on the quantity and types of fuels involved and their moisture content. These conditions have an effect on fire intensity and will determine how fast the fire will spread. Surface fires typically burn readily but at a low intensity and partially consume the entire fuel layer while presenting little danger to mature trees and root systems. Fuel buildup over many years will increase intensity and especially when associated with drought, can become a rapidly spreading ground fire. Regular controlled fire or prescribed burning effectively reduces the fuel buildup leading to a damaging ground fire.Crown fires generally result from intense rising ground fire heat and occur in the higher sections of draping trees. The resulting ladder effect causes hot surface or ground fires to climb the fuels into the canopy. This can increase the chance for embers to blow and branches to fall into unburned areas and increase the spread the fire.Ground fires are the most infrequent type of fire but make for very intense blazes that can potentially destroy all vegetation and organic manner, leaving only bare earth. These largest fires actually create their own winds and weat her, increasing the flow of oxygen and feeding the fire.

Could terrorists aquire Weapons of Mass Destruction and how Essay

Could terrorists aquire Weapons of Mass Destruction and how significant is the threat of them being used - Essay Example Most of these terrorist groups have sought to obtain the weapon of mass destruction. Al-Queda is the only terrorist group still pursuing to have WMD. The possibility of terrorist groups acquiring WMD is higher through former Soviet Union and due to the distribution of information and technology. The threat is evident with countries budgeting for prevention and response to these attacks. Most of the terrorists groups’ intentions changed from politics to the ability to kill a large number of people evident through actions of Al-Queda hence need WMD. Al-Queda is the leading group in the search to have WMD that is in line with the group’s goal of killing a large number of people in each attack. Al-Qaeda’s goal is evident from 9/11 attack and aborted attacks on the same day. Their ability has tremendously increased in the past due to their economic capability and availability of relevant information. However, the ability to acquire nuclear weapon may be lower due to technology requirements, unavailability of materials to build one and regulation in its acquisition. The terrorist groups have no option but use the improvised explosives in their attacks. The CIA shares the same idea that terrorist groups have lesser chances of acquiring WMD. Many terrorist groups including Aum Shinrikyo, Al-Queda and associates have in the past pursued WMD (Mowatt-Larssen, 2010, p 1). Strict regulations are among the factors impeding these groups from having the weapons. Even with these regulations, some terrorist groups like Al-Queda have made much progress in the process of acquiring WMD. The main goal of Al-Queda is to acquire nuclear weapon emanate from the message of the former leader Osama bin Laden. Other groups find it challenging and resort to using weapons including explosives that are easy to acquire. The accessibility to WMD by the terrorist groups is still hard, but some groups may acquire these weapons in future. The threat