Obsession in Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita Essay -- Nabokov Lolita Essays

Obsession in Lolita      Ã‚  Ã‚   The relationship between Humbert Humbert and Lolita is no doubt a unique one. Many people who read the novel argue that it is based on "lust", but others say that Humbert really is in "love" with Lolita. However, there is some astounding evidence that Humbert has an obsessional-compulsive disorder with Lolita. The obsession is clearly illustrated when Humbert's actions and behavior are compared to the experts' definitions and descriptions of obsession. In many passages, Humbert displays obsessional tendencies through his descriptive word choice and his controlling personality. Many people are obsessive, so this is not an alien subject. We see it everyday in the entertainment industry as well as in everyday life. Comparing Humbert Humbert to clinical and other definitions, it seems as if Humbert is one person who is an obsessed person.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Obsession is a tricky topic because it is hard to come up with a concrete definition. Who decides what obsession is? Where does one draw the line between obsession and deep admiration? According to S. Jack Rachman, "an obsession is an intrusive, repetitive thought, image, or impulse that is unacceptable or unwanted and gives rise to subjective resistance" (2). In addition, Andrew Brink states that "...the popular meaning of the term obsession, including the new verb 'to May 2 obsess', which means to be persistently preoccupied about something, usually an unsatisfactory relationship" (195). Both of these definitions are fairly similar, so now it is important to look at Humbert's actions and analyze how he fits into these defined categories.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First, Brink argues that most people, especially men, have an obsessiona... ...aracter, but he is not abnormal. We have many Humberts running around our world, regardless of if we realize it or not. Nabokov, a man not too distant from Humbert, found a way to rationalize his obsession through Lolita - indeed an artistic and creative move on his part.    WORKS CITED Beech, H. R. Obsessional States. London: Methuen & Co. LTD, 1974. Brink, Andrew. Obsession and Culture: A Study of Sexual Obsession in Modern Fiction. London: Associated University Presses, Inc., 1996. Nabokov, Vladamir. The Annotated Lolita. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. Ostling, Richard N. A Fatal Obsession with the Stars.à ¤ Time. 31 July 1989: 43-44. Rachman, S. Jack. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Psychological and Pharmacological Treatment. New York: Plenum Press, 1985. Salzman, Leon. The Obsessive Personality. New York: Science House, 1968.

Freak the Mighty Essay

Freak the Mighty is a story about the power of a true friendship. Freak and Max are two boys who were so different, and yet had much in common with one another. Freak as well as Max both had limitations and this helped them to become friends. They both run into problems, but together they are â€Å"Freak the Mighty, slaying dragons, rescuing fair maidens, and walking high above the world. † There are differences between Freak and Max. Max is big and tall, a slow thinker, and runs away from his problems. Freak is small, smart, and tries very hard to be brave. There are similarities between the two boys, both have a disability, both do not known their dads, and both are in fear of something. In the story it shows how Max is afraid of joining life here on Earth and Freak is afraid of leaving life here on Earth. Max handles this fear by staying quiet and giving in to people when they bother him and Freak deals with his fear by convincing himself that he will be saved by receiving bionic body parts. Main Events: Freak the Mighty finds Loretta’s purse and gives it to her. Max murdering dad kidnaps him and Freak saves him by spraying a liquid at him from his water gun. Freak gets very ill and goes into the hospital. Conclusion: In the story Max was so busy rescuing adventures, treasure hunting, and slaying dragons that he did not even realize that he already had begun living life. Freak realizes that he will die, but knows that he will stay alive through Max’s story of his and Max’s adventures. When Freak dies, Max feels as if he lost a part of himself because they were friends. Loretta gives Max hope after Freak dies by telling him â€Å"nothing is a drag. Think about it! † 1 Fact and 1 Opinion One fact is that this book is for anybody to read because it shares the story about people with disabilities and what they have to go through in their lives. My opinion is that everyone in school should be made to read this book because it might help them know what people that are different from them is going through.

This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

â€Å"It is that very hope that makes people go without a murmur to the gas chambers, keeps them from risking revolt, paralyses them into numb inactivity†¦ hope that breaks family ties, makes mothers renounce their children, or wives sell their bodies for bread, or husbands to kill. † (122) â€Å"This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen† by Tadeusz Borowski displays how survival and death have a close relationship. With an absence of morality Tedeusz becomes a key component to the executor’s effort. The overturn of values and an uncertain hope by the personal view of Tedeusz reflects on how the civilization as a whole is suffocated by Nazi control. It is essential to endure these issues in order to survive. The narrator Tedeusz slides into survival mode with a unique role in the camp, he witnesses and describes the complexity of survival and hope in the camp. He arrives at Auschwitz as a â€Å"political† prisoner when the policy on extermination changes, three weeks earlier â€Å"Aryans† stopped being sent to the gas chambers, with that he wedges himself in the middle of the hierarchy. With that, he does not live as a prisoner and does not endure the daily tasks as bad as most. He becomes one of the experienced, well-adjusted, completely institutionalized inmates. For him everything is a matter of sheer practicality, and people who refuse to cooperate with the necessary politics of camp life deserve not pity but contempt. The Canada men â€Å"carry [the babies] like chickens† (116), showing their surrender to the system of the Nazis. He is a victim collaborating in crime; immunized against the evil that surrounds him; able to find a fairly comfortable situation. His tone is one of moral indifference; he views the murdered people and the ones dying of starvation from a distance, without compassion, with scorn even. In â€Å"Auschwitz, Our Home,† one of the short stories in the collection, the narrator exclaims, â€Å"Never before in the history of mankind has hope been stronger than man, but never also has it done so much harm as it has in this war, in this concentration camp. We were never taught how to give up hope, and this is why today we perish in gas chambers. â€Å"(122) He is confronted by a world where the future is unknown. It plants an insightful thought of the working world. The writing portrays in such a brutally honest tone it forces us to confront the world and our understanding of human nature. In Auschwitz the odds are against survival what happens when we are confronted by a world where a future is not certain. We are asked to reaffirm our beliefs and the foundation for our beliefs. Does hope motivate us to action, or in essence of the text, does it paralyze our belief system and make us less likely to act for survival? Some characters that came off the trains showed yes some showed no. One character in particular bravely makes a decision right from the train. â€Å".. And over there is the gas chamber: communal death, disgusting and ugly. And over in the other direction is the concentration camp†¦ more hideous, more terrible than death†¦ I know, she says with a shade of proud contempt†¦ She walks off resolutely in the direction of the trucks. † This is a dignified act; she is unafraid to stand up for her values. On the contrary, a woman is numbed by the choice she must make, â€Å"She is young, healthy, good-looking, she wants to live. But the child runs after her, wailing loudly: ‘Mama, mama don’t leave me! ’† (43), she sacrifices her morals for a hope of survival with a tragic innate act. The novel also exhibits how hope gets in the way for survival. Every aspect of civilization is devalued so that everyone is under the same system created by the Nazis. Incomers remind the prisoners of their lost values and show a glimpse of the outside world, they are then treated with resentment and disgust. The Nazis and the prisoners feel better than the incomers and quickly reject them and their system of values in forms of anger. The Canada men â€Å"brutally tear suitcases from their hands, impatiently pull of their coats† (118). As a â€Å"woman reaches down quickly to pick up her handbag. A whip flies, the woman screams, stumbles, and falls† (115) the narrator says, â€Å"I don't know why, but I am furious, simply furious with these people-furious because I must be here because of them. I feel no pity. I am not sorry they're going to the gas chamber. † (116) the prisoners feel anger toward the incomers because â€Å"the easiest way to relieve your hate is to turn against someone weaker. † (116) Even the prisoners feel no sympathy for the incomers because the outside and inside worlds of the camp do not mix; only one world can exist. Since a civilization is based on pure values, these values must be united as one. â€Å"If the dead are wrong and the living are always right, everything is finally justified; but the story of Borowski’s life and that which he wrote about Auschwitz show that the dead are right, and not the living. † (26) To endure the derailed moral value in the camp, one must live in savagely, in each present moment and with faith to survive. By way of justification and structure Tedeusz and others learn that survival and death are in close association.

Free Essays on Latin Women Pray Vs. Journey Of The Magi

â€Å"The Grumbling Believers† Religion is a very controversial issue in every race, time, and generation. Whether someone â€Å"believes† or not is always an issue in everyday life for many people. In â€Å"Latin Women Pray† by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the writer is looking upon religious customs as a type of joke. Similarly in T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Journey of the Magi†, the speaker is grumbling about a trip that he once made. When comparing these two poems, one can notice a very distinct difference, yet both poems are negative towards religion. Both speakers of the poem had a bad or somewhat confusing confrontation with their religious beliefs and in the end are either confused or mad about the conclusion. How can someone be so grumpy about religion or God altogether? Maybe the speakers had a bad experience which drove them to believe this way or they could be struggling with some new found hope. Although both poems discuss religion, the tone, imagery, and purpose are very differe nt from each other. The tone in â€Å"Journey of the Magi† is a complaining yet determined one. The speaker of the poem is a man who took a journey to see the Christ child. He speaks well of the infant child he traveled very far to see, but he seems somewhat hesitant to say that it was an overall good experience. The speaker tells of all the negative things that happened during his trip. He tells of the grumbling camel men, his sore feet, and the bad weather. He never mentions the pretty views or the Christ child in a positive way. The only mention of the child is â€Å"-feet kicking in empty wine-skins.† It seems that the speaker harbors some sort of bitterness. On the other hand, in the third stanza he admits, â€Å"I would do it again†. Meaning that he would make the terrible journey that he so roughly speaks about again, just to see the infant. Similarly the tone in â€Å"Latin Women Pray† is negative also. The speaker, which I gathered to... Free Essays on Latin Women Pray Vs. Journey Of The Magi Free Essays on Latin Women Pray Vs. Journey Of The Magi â€Å"The Grumbling Believers† Religion is a very controversial issue in every race, time, and generation. Whether someone â€Å"believes† or not is always an issue in everyday life for many people. In â€Å"Latin Women Pray† by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the writer is looking upon religious customs as a type of joke. Similarly in T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Journey of the Magi†, the speaker is grumbling about a trip that he once made. When comparing these two poems, one can notice a very distinct difference, yet both poems are negative towards religion. Both speakers of the poem had a bad or somewhat confusing confrontation with their religious beliefs and in the end are either confused or mad about the conclusion. How can someone be so grumpy about religion or God altogether? Maybe the speakers had a bad experience which drove them to believe this way or they could be struggling with some new found hope. Although both poems discuss religion, the tone, imagery, and purpose are very differe nt from each other. The tone in â€Å"Journey of the Magi† is a complaining yet determined one. The speaker of the poem is a man who took a journey to see the Christ child. He speaks well of the infant child he traveled very far to see, but he seems somewhat hesitant to say that it was an overall good experience. The speaker tells of all the negative things that happened during his trip. He tells of the grumbling camel men, his sore feet, and the bad weather. He never mentions the pretty views or the Christ child in a positive way. The only mention of the child is â€Å"-feet kicking in empty wine-skins.† It seems that the speaker harbors some sort of bitterness. On the other hand, in the third stanza he admits, â€Å"I would do it again†. Meaning that he would make the terrible journey that he so roughly speaks about again, just to see the infant. Similarly the tone in â€Å"Latin Women Pray† is negative also. The speaker, which I gathered to...

Element Abundance of the Universe

Element Abundance of the Universe The element composition of the universe is calculated by analyzing the light that is emitted and absorbed from stars, interstellar clouds, quasars,  and other objects. The Hubble telescope greatly expanded our understanding of the composition of galaxies and gas in the intergalactic space between them. About 75% of the universe is believed to consist of dark energy and dark matter, which are different from the atoms and molecules that make up the everyday world around us. Thus, the composition of most of the universe is far from understood. However, spectral measurements of stars, dust clouds, and galaxies tell us the elemental composition of the portion that consists of normal matter. Most Abundant Elements in the Milky Way Galaxy This is a table of elements in the Milky Way, which is similar in composition to other galaxies in the universe. Keep in mind, elements represent matter as we understand it. Much more of the galaxy consists of something else! Element Element Number Mass Fraction (ppm) hydrogen 1 739,000 helium 2 240,000 oxygen 8 10,400 carbon 6 4,600 neon 10 1,340 iron 26 1,090 nitrogen 7 960 silicon 14 650 magnesium 12 580 sulfur 16 440    Most Abundant Element in the Universe Right now, the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen. In stars, hydrogen fuses into helium. Eventually, massive stars (around 8 times more massive than our Sun) run through their supply of hydrogen. Then, the core of helium contracts, supplying enough pressure to fuse two helium nuclei into carbon. Carbon fuses into oxygen, which fuses into silicon and sulfur. Silicon fuses into iron. The star runs out of fuel and goes supernova, releasing these elements back into space. So, if helium fuses into carbon you may be wondering why oxygen is the third most abundant element and not carbon. The answer is because the stars in the universe today are not first generation stars! When newer stars form, they already contain more than just hydrogen. This time around, stars fuse hydrogen according to whats known as the C-N-O cycle (where C is carbon, N is nitrogen, and O is oxygen). A carbon and helium can fuse together to form oxygen. This happens not just in massive stars, but also in stars like the Sun once it enters its red giant phase. Carbon really comes out behind when a type II supernova occurs, because these stars undergo carbon fusion into oxygen with almost perfect completion! How Element Abundance Will Change in the Universe We wont be around to see it, but when the universe is thousands or millions times older than it is now, helium may overtake hydrogen as the most abundant element (or not, if enough hydrogen remains out in space to far from other atoms to fuse). After a much longer time, its possible oxygen and carbon may become the first and second most abundant elements! Composition of the Universe So, if ordinary elemental matter doesnt account for most of the universe, what does its composition look like? Scientists debate this subject and revise percentages when new data becomes available. For now, the matter and energy composition is believed to be: 73% Dark Energy: Most of universe seems to consist of something we know next to nothing about. Dark energy probably doesnt have mass, yet matter and energy are related.22% Dark Matter: Dark matter is stuff that doesnt emit radiation in any wavelength of the spectrum. Scientists are unsure what, exactly, dark matter is. It has not be observed or created in a lab. Right now, the best bet is that its cold dark matter, a substance consisting of particles comparable to neutrinos, yet much more massive.4% Gas: Most of the gas in the universe is hydrogen and helium, found between stars (interstellar gas). Ordinary gas does not emit light, although it does scatter it. Ionized gases glow, but not brightly enough to compete with the light of stars. Astronomers use infrared, x-ray, and radio telescopes to image this matter.0.04% Stars: To human eyes, it appears the universe is full of stars. Its amazing to realize they account for such a small percentage of our reality.0.3% Neutrinos: Neutrinos are tiny, electrically neutral particles that travel at near light speed. 0.03% Heavy Elements: Only a tiny fraction of the universe consists of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Over time this percentage will grow.

Social Research & Think Tank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Research & Think Tank - Essay Example any organizations cooperate in a network to accomplish the development of projects whose objectives fostering social research in order to improve the efficiency of a diverse range of organizations. The Work Foundation is a non-profit organization that brings the different perspectives of working organizations together to find the best way of improving both economic performance and quality of life (Theworkfoundation, 2008). Think Tanks take advantage of the services provided by The Work Foundation to provide them with networking capabilities in different locations around the world. The purpose of the Institute and Policy Research is to establish international and domestic policies for different aspects of societal issues such as women’s right, protection for the disabled and national policies to fight world hunger. The establishment of policies is important since they provide guidelines to establish ways to solve social problems. A third important organization that can help the work perform by a social researcher in Think Tank is the Freedom Foundation. The primary goal of the Freedom Foundation is to solve three particular social problems: alcoholism, drug addiction and the fight against AIDS (Thefreedomfoundation, 2008). An aspiring to become a social researcher or somebody already in the game must understand that social research can extend to different social dimension in order to find the root of the problem. Cooperation is essential in social research since the investigator needs the assistance of other entities in order to obtain the data and information needed to create a qualitative or quantitative model to effectively attack a particular social dilemma. The Think Tank operations around the world can become more effective if its networking capabilities are expand by utilizing social research to establish the key alliances needed to obtain greater sources of databases with key social information that can be used to further investigated social areas in

Implications of Globalization and Technology on Negotiation Essay

Implications of Globalization and Technology on Negotiation - Essay Example Our world is dynamic in nature and it has become more advanced with the boom in technology and rapid globalization. The basic aim behind globalization is to promote and increase the trading exercises among different countries. This leads to the equal distribution of material wealth, goods and services which enhances the remarkable growth in overall structure of the economy in any country. Furthermore, it also helps in building sound international relations as well as competition at different levels among different countries. Globalization has left its deep effects on regional economies, trading activities, policies, societies and cultures. It has given a new definition to terms such as communication, trade and transportation. It has been commonly thought that factors like technology, economy, politics and other socio-cultural have played an important role in coining the term known to the world now as â€Å"globalization†. We cannot underestimate the importance of technology in today’s world of extreme modernization and advancement. Technology has played a vital role on the horizons of business and more specifically it has left its deeper impacts on international business. But how globalization and technology have their impact on negotiations and what changes are brought about by both of them? It is worth mentioning that globalization has given rise to tough international competition and in today’s world of advancement it has become a game of the survival for many growing economies and more specifically economies of the third-world countries are already considered as under-threat by such tough competition with technology as a second most important element collaborating directly in this game of survival . (Stroper, 1992). The implication of globalization and technology on negotiations can be explained by a very