Conflicts of Sects, Cults and Religious Movements

Review of Sylvia Plaths Novel The Bell Jar

Review of Sylvia Plath's Novel 'The Bell Jar' Written in the early 1960s, and Sylvia Plaths only full-length prose work, The Bell Jar is an autobiographical novel that relates the childhood longings and descent into madness of Plaths alter-ego, Esther Greenwood. Plath was so concerned about the closeness of her novel to her life that she published it under a pseudonym, Victoria Lucas (just as in the novel Esther plans to publish a novel of her life under a different name). It only appeared under Plaths real name in 1966, three years after she committed suicide. Plot The story relates a year in the life of Esther Greenwood, who seems to have a rosy future in front of her. Having won a competition to guest edit a magazine, she travels to New York. She worries about the fact that she is still a virgin and her encounters with men in New York go badly awry. Esthers time in the city heralds the start of a mental breakdown as she slowly loses interest in all the hopes and dreams. Dropping out of college and staying listlessly at home, her parents decide that something is wrong and take her to a psychiatrist, who refers her to a unit that specializes in shock therapy. Esthers condition spirals even further downwards due to inhumane treatment in the hospital. She finally decides to commit suicide. Her attempt fails, and a rich older lady who was a fan of Esthers writing agrees to pay for treatment in a center that does not believe in shock therapy as a method for treating the ill. Esther slowly starts her road to recovery, but a friend she has made at the hospital isnt so lucky. Joan, a lesbian who had, unbeknownst to Esther, fallen in love with her, commits suicide after her release from the hospital. Esther decides to take control of her life and is once more determined to go to college. However, she knows that the dangerous illness that put her life at risk could strike again at any time. Themes Perhaps the single greatest achievement of Plaths novel is its outright commitment to truthfulness. Despite the fact that the novel has all the power and control of Plaths best poetry, it does not skew or transform her experiences in order to make her illness more or less dramatic. The Bell Jar takes the reader inside the experience of severe mental illness like very few books before or since. When Esther considers suicide, she looks into the mirror and manages to see herself as a completely separate person. She feels disconnected from the world and from herself. Plath refers to these feelings as being trapped inside the bell jar as a symbol for her feelings of alienation. The feeling becomes so strong at one point that she stops functioning, at one point she even refuses to bathe. The bell jar also steals away her happiness. Plath is very careful not to see her illness as the manifestation of outside events. If anything, her dissatisfaction with her life is a manifestation of her illness. Equally, the end of the novel does not pose any easy answers. Esther understands that she is not cured. In fact, she realizes that she might never be cured  and that she must always be vigilant against the danger that lies within her own mind. This danger befell Sylvia Plath, not very long after The Bell Jar was published. Plath committed suicide in her home in England. A Critical Study The prose which Plath uses in  The Bell Jar does not quite reach the poetic heights of her poetry, particularly her supreme collection Ariel, in which she investigates similar themes. However, this does not mean the novel is not without its own merits. Plath managed to instill a sense of powerful honesty and brevity of expression which anchors the novel to real life. When she chooses literary images to express her themes she cements these images in everyday life. For example, the book opens with an image of the Rosenbergs who were executed by electrocution, an image that is repeated when Esther receives electro-shock treatment. Really, The Bell Jar is a  stunning portrayal of a particular time in a persons life and a brave attempt by Sylvia Plath to face her own demons. The novel will be read for generations to come.

Are Nietzsche's criticisms of morality convincing Essay

Are Nietzsche's criticisms of morality convincing - Essay Example According to him they were a dominant class that he calls â€Å"masters† who created a moral code that the subordinates in the society had to follow (Danto, 1994). Master morality is the morality of the strong willed. To those who practice master morality, the basic principle is that what is good is helpful and that which is bad is harmful. In the ancient times, the value or otherwise of an action was determined by its consequences. This basically implies that morality does not exist per se but rather, there are only moral interpretations of situations and occurrences. According to Nietzsche, the essence of morality is nobility. For the strong willed in the society that which is good is noble and powerful while the bad is weak, timid and cowardly. For the Master morality, the defining factor is the idea of what is good and later the nature of bad is defined as that which is not good. In master morality, open mindedness courage and an accurate sense of self worth are attributes that are highly valued. Hence, masters are creators of morality and master morality is self-determinant (Hooker, 2000). Master morality embodies living life to the fullest a completely natural human functioning. It has little concern for the outside and as such, lives a life free from external restrictions. Masters affirm themselves from the onset and then enforce their morality to everyone below them. Essentially, masters are more concerned about that which their self deems right. The other issues that are nonrelated are considered secondary and insignificant. In a way, the masters define what they want and everything else that is not aligned to their perspective and beliefs is non consequential. The ideals of the society and other people do not affect their morality. In fact, the superior people are not afraid to express their will to power. They are determined to let their self serving morality be the one that the others follow. Master morality does not let the will of the herds to determine their lifestyle and moral direction. On the contrary, these superior people consider the values of other people to be of little or no significance and their sole objective is to advance their self interests. Those who follow master morality subscribe to their self defined rules and are not bound by the values of the society or institutions. Thus, it is imperative that the masters craft their own reality and morality. Nietzsche argues that those who follow the master morality are the ones who determine the development of human race to higher levels. Even from the historical background, men who have had the greatest impact in the history of mankind are the strong-willed. The timid and weak simply do not have the capacity to make things happen. Transformation and authority requires a higher degree of self worth and belief in order to convince the followers (Ridley, 1998). Suffice to say, Nietzsche paints those who follow master morality as stiff necked people with a high sense of self imposed supremacy. They do not have room for reason as they deem their ideas to be the most superior of all. The masters are close minded and they do not have room to change their set beliefs. He further argues that these superior people do not even belief that new knowledge can make them revise their previous positions. Morality for the masters is a personal issue rather than a communal beliefs system. This means that those who practice

Christian Thought, Greek Philosophical Thought, Hindu Tradition Research Paper

Christian Thought, Greek Philosophical Thought, Hindu Tradition - Research Paper Example Hence discovering new avenues of mythology and knowing peculiar but amazing facts about the believes of Hindus. On the morning of November 1st 2011, I packed my bags and was out for a trip to New York, probably the most busy and populated cities of USA. My trip mainly aimed at visiting the various Hindu temples in the city and jotting my experiences as this was my field work. I got a list of the Hindu temples as a part of my assignment that I had to cover. My first visit on 2nd November, 2011 was to the Ganesha Temple, located in 45-57 Bowne street, New York. It was small frame temple, was completed in the initial days of 1977. I then came to learn the deity worshipped was that of the elephant god, who is known as Ganesha. The idol of the deity is gorgeously dressed. As per the traditional Hindu belief, Lord Ganesha's blessings are indispensible for success in all mundane affairs. So Ganesha puja is supposed to be an essential part, before any Hindu religious activity. Customarily ca rried out be it a marriage or any other ritual. As per Hindu Mythology, Lord Ganesha is the first son of Lord Shiva and Universal Mother Goddess Parvati and is an embodiment of knowledge. As per traditional belief, Lord Ganesha was beheaded during the time of his birth, however instead of a human head his head was replaced by that of an elephant. Despite the fact that this is a mythological anecdote, what really amazes me is how the story is mingling with so many Hindus sentiments and how it has got a profound influence on the way of life of a devout Hindu.  The daily rituals of Pujas are performed with utmost sincerity and full devotion, both in the temple, and as also I came to learn, as a daily way of life of many Hindus here in New York, although they are miles away from their home country. In addition to the daily rituals, the weekend services are conducted by volunteer priests. Structurally, the temple follows the guidance laid down in the Hindu scriptures for temple buildin g, also known as the Agama Shastra in Sanskrit. Agama Shastra also provides a departure from the traditionally accepted ways of religious conduct and worship that has been laid down in the main body of Hindu scriptures of Vedas, Upanishads, Epics and Puranas. My next visit was to the Om Sai Mandir, located in the heart of the city at 45-11 Smart Street. c. The temple is open from early morning till late evening, and contains the idol Sri Sai Baba. All visitors were welcome to visit the temple and seek the Baba's blessings, whether they were devout followers of the Guru or not. Sai Baba is a real life figure, who preached his faith to his followers during historical times. This is in contrast to Lord Ganesha, whose originates from Hindu mythology. He was a spiritual saint, a fakir (beggar). His followers believe that he helped his contemporaries and disciples with his miracles. The Baba is a Hindu Guru, a mystic philanthropist as well as educator of religious virtues. In the religiou s teachings of the Baba, one witnesses a blend of Hindu and Muslim beliefs and ways of life. So, like the Sufi Movement, the preaching of the Baba heralds the confluence of both Hindus and Muslims religious thoughts. To my surprise this is the place one can say, this temple occupies a position of importance for people of both the faiths who live here in New York, be their origin in India or in other countries of the sub-continent like Bangladesh and Pakistan. Seeing the personalities and faiths of religious leaders

Your Privacy on Facebook Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Your Privacy on Facebook - Case Study Example He states that eighty five percent of the users agreed to the public use of Facebook. He goes and explains further, that the change in the world requirements motivated the change (Rainer, 2008). The new changes in Facebook privacy settings have made the use simpler as compared to the old settings. The reduction in the number of settings has made it easy and clear for the use to comprehend. One of the important features that Facebook has is that the user controls the privacy settings of the viewers of ones content. The feature allows one to define the contents depending on whether one wants the friends or the business audience to view certain content of information. With the new settings, the user will have to pay attention to the default settings making the one responsible for the posts. Previously, many users used the default settings, which did not require any customization (Rainer, 2008). The new settings intend to have the users produce additional private data to the public. The new settings tend to allow sharing information to everybody in the network. Despite encouraging people to set the advanced settings according to their wish, the default settings tend to remain operational. Facebook, pushes the users to use the "everyone" button to allow sharing of information worldwide. With this in place, it would undermine the privacy issues that Facebook began in the beginning. It would no longer have enough privacy for any data shared. In addition, users would find themselves sharing more than they intend to share. The "recommended " settings availed by Facebook mislead people as the users do not look into the features closely and examine the content (Rainer, 2008). Conveying information should not lead to violating someones privacy. Social sites have in possession private information that they have to protect. Sharing of private information is violating privacy laws. In as much as organisation that deals with sharing information have the right to

Forces in Skeletal Structure of the Arm

Forces in Skeletal Structure of the Arm Bio Mechanics and Kinetics Task 1. Produce a labelled diagram showing the forces involved on the skeletal structure of a human arm as a weight is being held at a particular angle. Your report should use the principle of moments to fully describe all of the forces that are being applied at various points along the forearm through the muscle and tendons. (Assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) Skeletal muscles consist of many parallel fibres wrapped in a flexible sheath along a bone, narrowing at both ends into tendons. Some of the muscles thin into two or three tendons which are known as â€Å"biceps† and â€Å"triceps†. Muscle fibres contract after receiving an electrical signal from the nerve ending attached to them; hence the muscles shorten and a pulling force is sensed by the two bones. Primarily, the main function of the muscles is to pull and not to push. As part of this task, I am going to demonstrate the forces involved on the skeletal structure of the human arm when a weight is being held at a particular angle. The image below shows a free-body diagram illustrating the forces exerted on the forearm bar. According to the Laws of Statics such as Newton’s Law, the net force on the immobile bar must be zero, and the total torque (which will be discussed later) is also zero. Figure 1 Hence the forces acting on the forearm are its weight (W), the weight of the hand (H), force from the bicep muscle (B, which pulls upward the forearm at an angle ÃŽ ±) and the force from the humerus bone (A). The muscular system within the arm generates linear force. Linear force refers to the force that acts in straight line between the origin and the insertion. However the linear force is manifested by the rotational moment which is generated at the joint centre. This is due to the geometrical relationship between the lines of action of the muscles and the joint centre. The maximum force a muscle is able to exert is equivalent to its cross-sectional area, i.e. the legs are capable of lifting heavier load due to having greater cross-sectional area compared to the arms. Therefore the estimated maximum force a muscle can apply is about 7106 dyn/cm2 = 7 x 105 Pa = 102lb/in2. The formula to calculate the moment of force is: For example, if an arm (weighing 7kg) lifts a load of 5kg by 1cm, what is the moment of force applied on the arm? Firstly I will need to find the force of both objects, by using this formula: Where acceleration is 9.8m/s (Earths gravitational field, since it is constant). The force of the object = 5kg X 9.8m/s = 49N The force of the arm = 7kg X 9.8m/s = 68.6N Therefore the moment of a force =49N X 0.01m = 0.49Nm The moment of force of 0.49Nm is applied on the arm. The various joints in the body are known as levers which causes rotations about a fulcrum (axis rotation). This is used to figure out the forces exerted by the muscles such as lifting loads and transfer movement from one point to another. For a lever, the force F required to balance a load of weight (W) is: Where d1 and d2 are the lengths of the lever arms (illustrated in figure 2) If d1 is 5cm and d2 is 35cm, find out the force required to balance the weight of 5kg. Using the above formula: Therefore, a force of 0.71Nm is required to balance the weight of 5kg on the arm. If the load is close to the fulcrum, the mechanical advantage is greater (d12); hence if it is far away then it is smaller (d2> d1). Therefore the mechanical advantage may increase or decrease depending on the distances from the fulcrum. We can also measure torque (any point of the fulcrum), which refers to the force applied over a distance (lever arm) that causes rotations of the fulcrum. The torque is dependent on three variables: amount of force, angle of application of force and the length of the moment arm/ R. As mentioned above in figure 1, the total torque is equal to zero;. The following formula is used to calculate Torque Ï„: Where F is the force (0.71Nm), R is the distance from the location force is applied to the joint (moment arm) (35cm) à Ã‚ ´ is the angle between the force and the radial line I will now find out the torque for the same question, if the angle is 20 °; This links in with the above statement of the total torque being equal to zero. I am now going to discuss about the elbow and the forces applied to it. There are many properties which can be used to calculate the forces of the biceps: the angle of the elbow; the length of the upper and lower arm bone; and the distance from the bone to the location the muscle is attached to. I will now use this formula to find out the force exerted by the biceps (equilibrium) in holding the object, which is the sum of the clockwise moments about any points, equals the sum of the anticlockwise moments about the same point: Taking 5cm from bone to the biceps attachment; The force exerted by the biceps holding the object is 891.8N. Similarly, we can also measure the tension of the bicep/arm holding the object. The image below shows an arm being held out and elevated from the shoulder by the deltoid muscle. The forces can be measured the taking the sum of the torques (of the shoulder joint, the tension (T) can be calculated: Where W1 is the weight of the arm, W 2 is the weight of the object Using the above question; if = 20; the weight of the arm (W1) is 68.6N and the weight of the object (W2) is 49N, then calculate T: = 113.96N Therefore the force needed to hold up the bicep/arm at 20, is 113.96N. Task 2. A) You must complete the energy changes/momentum worksheet. Assessment criteria 2.3,2.4 See attachments b) You must produce a report that describes the equations of motion needed to calculate the range and maximum height that a projectile thrown by a human can achieve. This report must include examples of both the range equation and maximum height equation. You could use a sports person throwing a ball as an example. A projectile is any object that has been thrown or shot by a human (measures projectile motion). Projectiles are affected by two factors: gravity (Horizontal motion) and air resistance (vertical motion which is the force of gravity pulling down the object). As part of this task I am going to carry out various calculations to find out the range and maximum height that a golf ball can achieve when a golf player hits the ball. A golfer hits a ball so that it moves off with a speed of 37m/s at an angle of 45. I am going to calculate how far the ball goes; the maximum height it will reach; and how long it takes for the ball to get there. Firstly, I am going to use the following formula to calculate how far the ball travels; Where R is the range/resultant (how far the ball goes), V0 is the initial velocity of the ball speed (37m/s) g is the gravity (9.8m/s) also can be used as (a) since it is constant à Ã‚ ´ is angle of the ball (45 °) Therefore; Hence, when a ball is hit with a speed of 37m/s at 45 °, the ball will go far as 139.7m. Secondly, I will calculate the maximum projectile height (how high a ball will go) by using the following method; Where Ymax is the maximum projectile height that the ball will go The maximum projectile height that a ball will reach is 34.9m. The final calculation that I am going to carry out is the flight time so that I can find out how long it takes for the ball to get there. I will use the following method; Where Tflight is the time flight of how long it takes for the ball to reach there. The flight time for the ball to get there is 5.3s. Using the same question, I now want to find out how far the ball travels horizontally from A to C and the time that the ball is in the air, ignoring any air resistance and taking g = 10ms-2. Firstly, I will calculate the time that the ball is in the air for, by using the following formula; I need to find out the vertical motion from A to B first = 90 ° 45 ° = 45 ° Formula; Where v is the final velocity (0 since it is moving horizontally), u is the initial velocity (37m/s x cos 45) is 26.16m/s a is the acceleration (10m/s) t is the time Therefore; , so the time it takes from A to C is twice this I will now look at the horizontal motion from A to C. Horizontal component of velocity. This is constant during motion. Horizontal distance = horizontal velocity X time of flight Therefore the horizontal distance the ball travels from A to C is 136.8m. Task 3. You must produce a report showing how the variation of blood pressure affects the human body. Your report must include calculations to determine pressure based on area or density values. Assessment criteria 3.1,3.2 Bernoulli’s Principles explains that flowing blood has different speeds and therefore different kinetic energies (KE) at different parts of the arteries. It determines the relationships between the pressure, density and velocity at every point in a fluid. Bernoulli’s Principle was discovered by a Swiss physicist called Daniel Bernoulli in 1738. He has demonstrated that as the velocity of fluid flow increases, its pressure decreases. Flowing blood has mass and velocity. The mean velocity squared (V2) is equal to the kinetic energy. The image below demonstrates the variance of kinetic energy at different parts of the vessels and also shows the theory of Bernoulli’s Principle: Therefore KE =  ½ mV2. As we know from above that blood flows inside arteries, were pressure is applied laterally against the walls of the vessel which is known as the potential or pressure energy (PE). The total energy (E) of the blood pressure within the artery is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies (presuming there are no gravitational effects): E = KE + PE(where KE ∠ V2)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™ Therefore,E ∠ V2 + PE Similarly, Bernoulli’s Principle states that the sum of the Pressure (P), the kinetic energy per unit volume (1/2 pv2), and the gravitational potential energy per unit volume (pgy) has the same value at all points along a streamline. The equation below shows this: There are two vital theories that follow from this relationship, which includes: Blood flow driven by the variation in total energy between two points. Normally, pressure is considered as the driving force for blood flow but in fact it is the total energy that moves flow between two areas (i.e. longitudinally along a blood vessel or across a heart valve). KE is relatively low in most of the cardiovascular system; hence PE difference is the energy that drives flow. Similarly, is KE is high then the total energy increases which explains the flow across the aortic valve during cardiac ejection. This is because, as KE drives blood across the valve at a very high velocity, it ensures that the total energy (E) in the blood crossing the valve is higher than the total energy of the blood more distal in the aorta. KE and PE can be converted to maintain the total energy unchanged, which is the basis of Bernoulli’s Principle. This principle is basically about the blood vessel that is suddenly narrowed then returned to its normal diameter. The velocity increases as the diameter decreases in narrowed region (stenosis). Blood flow (F) is the mean velocity (V) and the vessel cross-sectional area (A) is directly related to diameter (D) (or radius, r2); hence V ∠ 1/D2. If the diameter is reduced by half in the region of the stenosis, the velocity increases 4-fold, due to KE ∠ V2, hence KE increases 16-fold. The image below demonstrates this: The image above shows the total energy being conserved within the stenosis (E actually decreases because of resistance), then the 16-fold increase in KE will decrease in PE. Once past the narrowed segment, KE will go back to its pre-stenosis value as the post-stenosis diameter is the equal to the pre-stenosis diameter, hence flow is conserved. Due to the resistance of the stenosis and turbulence, the port stenosis PE and E will both fall. Therefore, blood flowing at greater velocities has greater ratio of KE to PE. As we know, blood pressure is the force of fluid against the walls of the arteries, similar to how water exerts the pressure inside aplastic pipe. It is made up of systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the top figure and relates to when the heart is contracting (beating) and forcing blood through the arteries and transporting it to the rest of the body i.e. brain, kidneys etc. The normal values for systolic pressure is from 120-139mmHg. Diastolic pressure is the bottom figure and is linked to when the heart is relaxing. The normal value for diastolic pressure is between 80-89mmHg. Hence, if the values exceed these numbers, then it is considered to be hypertension. Hypertension is high blood pressure which is caused by the increased force of blood flowing through the arteries. Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Inner lining of the arteries are smooth allowing the blood to flow freely, supplying important organs and tissues with adequate nutrients andoxygen. Hypertension can gradually lead to wide range of problems such as damaging the cell’s inner lining of the arteries; hence releasing a cascade of events that causes the artery wallsthick and stiff (called arteriosclerosis), or hardening of the arteries. Similarly, the fats from the diet enter the bloodstream and passes through the damaged cells. However, plaques are prone to building up in the arteries leading to atherosclerosis. These changes lead to blocking blood flow to the heart, kidneys, brain, arms and leg. Heart: it causes coronary artery disease, which is narrowing of the arteries that doesn’t allow blood to flow freely through the arteries. Leading to chest pain, heart attack (myocardial infarction)or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Hypertension can also cause enlarged left heart as the pressure forces the heart to work harder than necessary. Similarly, overtime the strain on the heart leads to the heart muscles to weaken and work less effectively causing the heart to wear out and fail. Brain: hypertension can cause mini-strokes (Transient ischemic attack (TIA)), which a temporary disruption of blood supply to the brain caused by blood clot or atherosclerosis. Similarly, it can lead to the full-blown stroke which happens when part of the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients leading brain cells to die. Uncontrolled hypertension damages and weakens the brains blood vessels, causing to narrow, rupture or leak. Narrowing and blockage of the brains blood vessels can also lead to Dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Kidneys: filters excess fluid and waste from the blood via a process that depends on healthy blood vessels. Hypertension can damage both the blood vessels and leading to the kidneys. This leads to various kidney diseases, failure and scarring of the kidney. Eyes:- Blood vessels supplies blood to the eyes; hence high blood pressure can damage the blood vessel (retinopathy) Reference http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-blood-pressure/blood-pressure-research.aspx 22nd October 2013 http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-blood-pressure.aspx 22nd October 2013 http://www.webmd.boots.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/diastolic-systolic 24th October 2013 http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/high-blood-pressure/HI00062.html 24th October 2013 http://amazinghumanbody-prakash.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/skeletal-system.html 25th October 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/factfiles/armandshoulder/arm_and_hand.shtml 26th October 2013 http://www.cvphysiology.com/Hemodynamics/H012.htm 26th October 2013 http://www.bu.edu/gk12/kai/Lesson%206/BP_Back.pdf 27th October 2013 http://mysite.verizon.net/fvozzo/genphys/lecture.html 27th October 2013 http://muscle.ucsd.edu/musintro/ma.shtml 29th October 2013 http://www.as.wvu.edu/~rbrundage/chapter8b/sld015.htm 29th October 2013 http://www.answers.com/topic/projectile-motion 30th October 2013 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/optimizing-a-basketball-shot/ 1st November 2013 http://demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/node/28 25th November 2013 http://www.medicalphysics.org/apps/medicalphysicsedit/WebPOTB.pdf 25th November 2013 http://physics.eou.edu/opensource/physics/projectile.pdf 27th November 2013 http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=14ved=0CG8QFjANurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wooster.edu%2F~%2Fmedia%2Ffiles%2Facademics%2Fresearch%2Fhhmi%2Fresources%2Flectures%2Fhuman-arm-goniometer.ashxei=bnakUuzDC6yg7AbX5oGYCQusg=AFQjCNFMTH1EmPzRvKvptZu4R7_XUpFKPwbvm=bv.57752919,d.ZGU 28TH November 2013 Dobson et al. (2002). ‘ Collin advanced – Physics’. Collins eduction : London Rounce, J.F and Lowe, T.L. (1992). ‘Calculations for A level Physic’. Second edition. Stanley Thornes: Britain Boutal et al. (2008). ‘AS-Level physics – exam board’. Coordination group publications CGP: Newcastle Tsokos, KA. (2008). ‘Physics for the IB Diploma’. Fifth edition. Cambridge university press: united kingdom Johnson et al. (2000). ‘Advanced physics for you’. Nelson Thornes: united kingdom

Narrative- Amazon Woman Essay examples -- Personal Narrative Writing

Narrative- Amazon Woman I need to recover a rhythm in my heart that moves my body first and my mind second, that allows my soul to catch up with me. I need to take a sacred pause, as if I were a sun-warmed rock in the center of a rushing river. I am crouching still near a tree on a loamy ridge, my two hands spread around the trunk. I am feeling grateful for this tree that I remember because of its mossy smell and thick crevassed bark. It tells me that the beaver pond is near where one white pine shoots 100 feet up out of the tannic water, which means I am close to camp and food and sleep. I get to the pond’s edge, across from the point where my tent sits. There are no trails and the boreal forest is thick with scrub pine and dead-fall. Early afternoon sun brings out the wave of deer flies; I shake my head so that my two braids might hit the little buggers in mid-air. Undeterred, one begins to chew on my shoulder blade and prickers dig into my shins. I can see my tent across the pond, 100 yards as the crow flies, probably a mile walk around the edge. I decide to take off my clothes, leave them on this rock by the shore, swim across and come back for my things later in my canoe. Even though the whine of the deer flies’ wings beating around my head intensifies, I just stare at the water. It is only two feet deep here at the edge, but it is so dark that I cannot see the bottom. Darker shapes appear as I stare, including a large fallen pine tree which leads from the shore and disappears into the darkness. A fear takes hold of me, as it does every time I conte mplate diving into this dark water. I shake my head to loosen its grip, feel a deer fly land on the small of my back and I dive. I swim as hard as I can, my heart bang... ...Today I am smiling wide and proud of this body that carried boat and gear down to the water’s edge; that paddled against the wind across the bay to the foot of the wetland stream. The body that hoisted the laden canoe over five beaver damns, that carried boat and canoe up the trail for a mile to the secret pond; that sleeps comfortably in a tent alone out here listening to the hoot owl, and the loons and the cacophony of bullfrog music; the body that jerks upright at midnight with the sound of a buck’s snort and heavy stomp of his hoof; the body that gets up early and bushwhacks to the top of the mountain. I lie down on the warm rock at the edge of the pond and I close my eyes. My breath feels easy and light, my belly is soft and where a hard gnarled knot used to be under my sternum, a warmth spreads beyond my skin, around the blue sky and sun and back in again.