Into the Wild Essay Example for Free

Into the Wild Essay In writing â€Å"Into the Wild,† Krakauer’s intention was to uncover the facts (or at least get as close to the facts as possible) surrounding Christopher McCandless’ journey â€Å"into the wild. † Krakauer discusses and presents theories and explanations about McCandless’ reasons for going off into a potentially fatal journey, and also presents investigations into how McCandless came to such a state in his life. Krakauer gives us some idea of the direct cause of McCandless’ death, and his reasons for doing what he did. Krakauer aims to give readers with invaluable insight into the mind of McCandless—how McCandless came about the idea of going to the Alaskan wilderness, what his motivations were, how he planned and managed to survive the grueling trek, and most importantly, â€Å"why? † The author seeks to understand what happened to McCandless in the wild, and to explain why someone so full of promise, who seems to have such an ideal life and much of all that he could ask for, could do what McCandless did. However, Krakauer does not presume to be certain about McCandless reasons, but he presents some very good explanations and allows us to understand McCandless’ mind even more. By revealing many things about the reasons behind McCandless’ death, Krakauer shows us that McCandless was far more than a simple and reckless fool who wasted his life. McCandless, who was an intelligent young man, went off into the Alaskan woods to â€Å"find himself† and to reunite with nature. He was heavily influenced by the literature he had read, to such an extent that he became, most of all, a man in search of himself and of a purpose in life. In order to really â€Å"find† himself, he felt it necessary to cut all ties from society, from his family, and reinvent himself as Alexander Supertramp, thus cutting his ties with his old identity. Whether or not he found what he was looking for in the wild is open to speculation, however Krakauer describes McCandless’s psychological terrain by including anecdotes and quotations from people who were in a similar state of mind as McCandless, as well as drawing parallels with his own life as a mountaineer and adventurer. Each chapter presents different tales from others who have been in the same road as McCandless, people who have also sought the solitude of the wild. Krakauer also interviewed people who have come in contact with McCandless during his journey. By the end of â€Å"Into the Wild,† the readers gains significant understanding of McCandless’ personality. Whether McCandless was brave or foolish, his journey of self-discovery is something that almost everyone can relate with and understand on some level. However, while the book is accessible to anyone who could have some interest in the controversial life and death of Christopher McCandless, it is most geared towards those who have sentiments similar to those that McCandless held regarding society, nature, and how to live. â€Å"Into the Wild† helps us understand McCandless’ character, although by the end of the book, it is still up to the reader to decide if McCandless was â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† in having done what he did – whether he was courageoeus or merely foolish.

Social Contract Theory and the Nature of Society, Rules and Morality Es

Social Contract Theory and the Nature of Society, Rules and Morality Social contract theory is a philosophy about the nature of morality and the origins of society. Its adherents believe â€Å"social organization rests on a contract or compact which the people have made among themselves† (Reese, 533). This concept was first articulated by the Sophists, who said societies are not natural occurrences but rather the result of a consensus of people (Reese 533). Plato expresses these ideas in The Republic when he says that society is created to meet human needs (Encyclopedia 1). Various other philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, and Richard Hooker, incorporated the concept of a social contract in their applications to political theory (Encyclopedia 1). None of these philosophers, however, made the social contract their primary focus. They included the theory as just one component of their main philosophies. It wasn’t until much later that social contract theory was developed as a unique and sep arate philosophy. The 17th Century British...

What reading you enjoy the most

Question 3 what reading have you enjoyed most in the past year and why? The reading I have enjoyed the most In the past year Is To kill a mocking bird' by Harper Lee The Storrs main theme is about racial discrimination and gender Inequality. It used a child's point of view to tell the story so I can throw myself Into the main character Scout. Thanks to her naivety, the injustice and the hypocrisy of Maycomb folks are enhanced. The most excltlng part of the story Is the tight In the court. Scout's father is a lawyer and he is trying to fight for a black man.Although I expect there will be a courageous character to stand up and correct the bias but it comes out as a bad ending, which prejudice Is Imposed. However I can still sense that the author is trying to tell us what is wrong and what is right If I have to use a word to describe the story, the word would probably be: Amazing. My emotion flows with the story, and every detail is mentioned clearly, Harper's writing is really coheren t as well. I was reminded that â€Å"Your never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view†¦ til you climb inside of skin and walk around in It. † This is an absolute delight reading and I highly recommend others to read. The reading I have enjoyed the most In the past year Is ‘To kill a mocking bird' by Harper Lee. The storys main theme is about racial discrimination and gender inequality. It used a child's point of view to tell the story so I can throw myselt into the Maycomb folks are enhanced. The most exciting part of the story is the fight in the court. Scouts father is a lawyer and he Is trying to fight for d black man.Although I comes out as a bad ending, which prejudice Is Imposed. However I can sull sense that the author is trying to tell us what is wrong and what is right. If I have to use a word to describe the story, the word would probably be: Amazing. My emotion tlovw with the story, and every detail is mentioned clea rly, Harpers writing is really you consider things from his point of view†¦ untll you climb Inside of skin and walk around in it. † This is an absolute delight reading and I highly recommend others to read.The reading I have enjoyed the most In the pastyear Is ‘To kill a mocking bird' by Harper Lee. The storys main theme is about racial discrimination and gender inequality. It used a child's point otviewto tell the story so I can throw myselt into the court. Scouts father is d lawyer and he Is trying to fight for d black man. Although I 1 Of3 coherent as well. I was reminded that mfour never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view†¦ Until you climb inside of skin and walk read.The reading I have enjoyed the most in the past year is ‘To kill a mocking bird' inequality. It used a child's point of view to tell the story so I can throw myself into the court. Scout's father is a lawyer and he is trying to fght for a black ma n. Although I comes out as a bad ending, which prejudice is imposed. However I can still sense by Harper Lee. The story's main theme is about racial discrimination and gender Maycomb folks are enhanced. The most exciting part of the story is the fght in the coherent as well. I was reminded that miour never really understand a person until

Analysis of environment, industry and SWOT analysis

The Australian food retailing industry is characterized by a high level of competitiveness. The intense competitiveness has led to an environment in which emphasis on cost efficiency has become the critical success factor. In the general environment, the key to maintaining competitiveness has become ensuring cost efficiency through efficient supply chain management.This efficiency can be promoted technologically. Economic factors are also important in the environment. These factors manifest themselves in high levels of household debt, a low national rate of saving, falling house prices, falling oil prices and increases in unemployment and interest rates. In Aldi’s case, these environmental factors are likely to exercise a negative influence on consumer spending.The threat of new entrants is high in this industry. For example, Aldi faces the threat of its main European rival Lidl entering the Australian market. Therefore the threat of substitute products is also high. This thre at is underscored by the fact that most competitors are carrying house brands which are enabling them to offer high quality at a low price. This has resulted in a high level of competitive rivalry.The main competitors currently are Woolworths and Coles-Myer. These are the two major national chains. There are also smaller regional players such Action, IGA and Franklins. These companies are focusing on cost efficiencies and therefore sustainability of competitive advantage has become difficult to maintain. Bargaining power of customers in the FMCG industry is also high. However the bargaining power of suppliers is not that high. Costs in this case have been streamlined through building long term relations.Aldi’s main strength is the process of decentralization empowering managers. There is a high degree of delegation in the company. The company’s weakness is in its lack of investment in marketing. Currently this is not a problem but in the future, as new entrants stake o ut a claim in the industry, the company might have to invest in aggressive promotional strategies (cited in Hill, 2008).However the company is not structured to shift focus accordingly. Lack of market research might also become a problem in case of increased competitiveness. The opportunity for the company is to move into other Australian states and territories.In the immediate time frame, the company should focus on South Australia because of its proximity to its current locations. The threat is the rising level of competition not only from the existing players but also from new entrants. The competitive threat is being created in terms of cost improvements and product diversifications (cited in Aaker, 2004).Key resources and capabilitiesThe source of Aldi’s competitive advantage is cost leadership. Implementation of this strategy has been facilitated by maintaining good relations with channel members and ensuring employee satisfaction.Channel members include the suppliers a nd the customers. Aldi’s strategic focus is to ensure maximum customer satisfaction by maintaining a product range that is in alignment with customer tastes and preferences. The company also maintains good relations with the suppliers by maintaining a shared information network.Its cultural orientation is also unique in terms of facilitating the highest degree of decentralization and delegation. This gives the managers a sense of ownership over their processes and as a result they are committed to the continuous improvement process. This is a critical success factor for the company in the highly competitive environment in which it operates and these resources ensure a sustainable competitive advantage.What gives Aldi a sustainable competitive advantage is its limited product range that consists of house brands. The advantage of maintaining this orientation is that strategies against the threat of product differentiation can be implemented.This is particularly relevant in Aldi ’s case because it faces intense competition from Woolworths and Coles-Meyer which are major national chains and draw their competitive advantage from maintaining a widely diversified product portfolio.Therefore Aldi has to position itself as a low cost provider of products of comparable quality. This is facilitated through cutting costs in areas such as not providing free shopping bags, surcharges on credit card payments and motivating customers to manage their own shopping trolleys.These strategies enable the company to cut down the size of its manpower and therefore reduce costs. Being cost conscious is the first part of its guiding philosophy. The second and third parts of the philosophy are related to ensuring satisfaction with customers and suppliers.

How to Write a Research Paper in APA Style

How to Write a Research Paper in APA Style APA is a writing format that was set by the American Psychological Association. This style is most preferred by colleges and graduate schools. It is used for social sciences and is based on the idea that scientific papers discuss facts already proven to be true, and that the year in which a piece of work was published is important and should, therefore, be included in the in-text citations. One of the basic elements of APA is that all text should be double-spaced. The document used should be standard-sized (8.5† x 11†). All margins should be set at 1†. The recommended font is Times New Roman at 12pt. This, however, may differ in accordance to given instructions. On every page, include a page header or running head. It shows a shortened version of the paper’s title in capital letters, as well as the page numbers. Research papers written using APA style have four main sections. On the Title page is the paper’s title, student’s name, and the institution. The page header should look like this: â€Å"Running head: PAPER TITLE†, and should be flushed to the left, with the page number to the right. Note that in other pages, the page header looks like this; â€Å"PAPER TITLE† and is also flushed to the left, with the page number to the right. The second section is the Abstract, which should also be on a distinct page. It too should have a page header. The topic â€Å"Abstract† should be centered with no bold text or any other form of formatting. This section highlights key points of the paper, and should be between 150 to 250 words long. You can also include your key words on the abstract page. The third section is the Main Body and the fourth one is the References page. As is commonly known, when writing a paper one should always make sure to submit work that is 100% plagiarism free. This is achieved by paraphrasing and using parenthetical citations. Direct quotations are enclosed in quotation marks or are indented from the rest of the body. This is followed by an in-text citation to give reference to the work’s owner. When in-text citations are being used, include the last name of the author, and then the year of publication. Do not forget to use a comma to separate items enclosed in parenthesis. When you use a direct quote, please add the exact page number relating to the text, e.g., (Hall, 2013, p. 87). All the sources used should then be listed on a separate References page, after the main part of the paper. Please refer to one of the several APA guideline websites available online, such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab, for further assistance on how to do this. Additionally you can get professional APA style research paper help from academic writers at CustomWritings.com. They will write your research paper in this format!

What Is Iambic Pentameter in Poetry

What Is Iambic Pentameter in Poetry SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The term iambic pentameter sounds like it’s more at home in a science textbook than it is in your English class. But believe it or not, iambic pentameter is a type of poetic meter! In other words, iambic pentameter is a term that refers to a very specific type of rhythm that you find in poetry. Knowing what poetic meter is and how to find it is an important skill for the AP Literature exam, and it can be really impressive if you discuss it properly in the AP exam’s essay portion. We know poetic meter might sound scary- heck, anything that has to do with poetry can be scary!- but we’re here to help. In this article, you’ll learn what iambic pentameter is, discover how tofind it in a poem, and analyzeiambic pentameter examples in poetry. Let’s dive right in! "Penta" means "five," so you know there will be five of SOMETHING in iambic pentameter. (Spoiler alert: it has to do with the number of iambs in each line!) Iambic Pentameter: Definition and Meaning To understand iambic pentameter, it’s easiest to break the phrase down into two parts. Part 1: Pentameter Let’s start with pentameter. In poetry, meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a verse, or line, of a poem. Whew! That’s already a lot! Let’s unpack that a little bit. A syllable is the number of vowel sounds that are present in a word. Consonant sounds don’t matter! The more vowel sounds a word has, the more syllables it has! (Quick refresher: vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.) So for example, â€Å"question† has two syllables, â€Å"flexible† has three syllables, and â€Å"do† has one syllable. Don’t make the mistake of thinking long words must have more syllables than short words! Syllabation has everything to do with the vowel sounds a word has, not the number of letters. For example, the word â€Å"screeched† only has one syllable whereas â€Å"utopia† has four! But poetic meter is more than just the number of syllables in a verse: it’s the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. So what makes a syllable stressed or unstressed? Well, we’re glad you asked! A stressed syllable is a syllable that has five tests all on the same day. (Just kidding...but we couldn’t resist a dad joke.) But seriously, a stressed syllable is a syllable that’s emphasized within a word. It’s the syllable that stands out, and it often has a long vowel sound. Let’s look at a few words to see what we mean. Take â€Å"meter,† for example. Meter has two syllables, and the first one is stressed. But when you say â€Å"meter,† you pronounce it ME-ter, not me-TER. That’s because the first syllable is stressed. That makes the second syllable- or the one that doesn’t have emphasis- unstressed. Another example is â€Å"computer.† In this word, only the middle syllable is stressed. You pronounce it com-PU-ter, not COM-pu-ter or com-pu-TER. Not all words have stressed syllables! For example, â€Å"homemade† has two unstressed syllables. (It would sound silly to say HOME-made or home-MADE.) Although there are complex ways to determine stressed and unstressed syllables, the easiest way to determine the stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry is to read the verse out loud. You’ll definitely be able to hear if you’re pronouncing a word funny! (In our favorite clip from the movie A View from the Top, Mike Meyers demonstrates this perfectly.) But what makes a poem have pentameter specifically? Well, a poem with pentameter has five stressed syllables in a line. Here’s an example of a line with pentameter from Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 18.† The line reads, â€Å"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines.† Okay, so let’s break this line up into syllables by using hyphens instead. If we count the syllables in this line, we end up with 10, and the line would look like this: â€Å"Some-time too hot the eye of hea-ven shines.† Now let’s look at the stressed syllables. In this line, every other syllable is stressed. So when you read it out loud, it sounds like this: â€Å"Some-TIME too HOT the EYE of HEA-ven SHINES.† That means the line has five stressed syllables, which tells us that this verse uses pentameter. (And because we know this is a Shakespearean sonnet, we also know that the whole poem will be in pentameter.) When all of a poem’s lines have the same number of stressed syllables, we say that the poem has meter. Poems can have all kinds of meter. Poems where lines have six stressed syllables in each line are written in â€Å"hexameter,† and a poem with three stressed syllables in each line would be in â€Å"triameter.† In the case of a poem with pentameter, every single line of the poem will have five stressed syllables in some combination. Did you know that poetry has feet? METRICAL feet, that is! Part 2: Iambs Now let’s tackle the â€Å"iambic† part of iambic pentameter. An iamb is a type of metrical foot in poetry. (A metrical foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables that repeats itself throughout a verse, stanza, or poem.) An iamb is a very specific type of metrical foot that has one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. In order to figure this out, it’s best to read the poem out loud. You can underline each part of the word that is a stressed syllable, which will allow you to visualize the pattern. (There are actual, formal marks that linguists and literature scholars use to indicate rhythm and meter, which you can find here if you’re interested.) Here’s a line from Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 37†: â€Å"And by a part of all thy glory live.† Let’s go ahead and break it into its stressed and unstressed syllables, which looks something like this: and BY a PART of ALL thy GLO-ry LIVE See how the stresses alternate with unstressed syllables perfectly? Each pair of unstressed and stressed syllables- like â€Å"and/by† and â€Å"of/all†- is an iamb. Because each line of this poem uses this alternating structure of unstressed and stressed syllables, we would say that the poem iambic. Randall Munroe/xkcd Putting It Together: Iambic Pentameter So now let’s put all of our new knowledge together. If an iamb is a combination of syllables, and meter is a certain number of stressed syllables, then iambic pentameter is a specific arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. In iambic pentameter, each line of the poem has to have five iambs! To see this at work, let’s look at another line from a Shakespearean sonnet, this time from â€Å"Sonnet 104.† The line reads, â€Å"Have from the forests shook three summers' pride.† First, let’s break the line down into its syllables using hyphens: Have from the for-ests shook three sum-mers' pride Now, let’s add the stresses into the line by capitalizing each stressed syllable: Have FROM the FOR-ests SHOOK three SUM-mers' PRIDE Now, let’s count the metrical feet by adding a / in between each piece of the pattern: Have FROM / the FOR / ests SHOOK / three SUM / mers' PRIDE Because this line has five feet that each contain an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, we know that it’s a verse written in iambic pentameter. When the whole poem is written with the same rhythm, we can say that the poem has iambic pentameter, too! Iambic pentameter is a popular poetic form, especially in English poetry. Many people think of it as the â€Å"standard† poetic meter, likely because Shakespeare’s sonnets are all written in iambic pentameter. But some modern poets, like Wallace Stevens and John Keats, use iambic pentameter, too. Iambic Pentameter in Poetry: â€Å"The Waking† by Theodore Roethke Now that you know what iambic pentameter is, let’s test out your new skills with a poem that wasn’t written by Shakespeare! Let’s take a look at a few stanzas from â€Å"The Waking† by Theodore Roethke, one of the most famous poets of the 20th century, which is a good iambic pentameter example. The second stanza reads: We think by feeling. What is there to know? I hear my being dance from ear to ear. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Okay, try doing this one on your own. Copy and paste this stanza into your word processor and see if you can break each line into syllables. Then capitalize the stressed syllables. Once that’s done, put a forward slash in between each metrical foot. Once you’re done, check out the correct meter in the box below: we THINK / by FEE / ling. WHAT/ is THERE / to KNOW? i HEAR / my BE / ing DANCE / from EAR / to EARi WAKE / to SLEEP / and TAKE / my WAK /ing SLOW See the pattern of iambs (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable)? Because each line has five iambs, you know the poem is written in iambic pentameter! Let’s try another iambic pentameter example from the same poem. Here’s the stanza: Great Nature has another thing to do To you and me; so take the lively air, And, lovely, learn by going where to go. Do the same thing: separate the syllables by a hyphen, then go back and capitalize every syllable that you think is stressed. Here’s the finished mark-up: great NA / ture HAS / a-NO / ther THING / to DO to YOU / and ME; / so TAKE / the LIVE / ly AIR, and, LOVE / ly, LEARN / by GO / ing WHERE / to GO. Did you get it? We’re sure you did now that you’re an iambic pentameter expert! If you want some more practice working through iambic pentameter examples, you canrepeatthis exercise on almost all of Shakespeare's sonnets. (Hey...maybe you can find the ones that aren’t exactly in iambic pentameter, too!) You can find all of Shakespeare's sonnets courtesy of OpenSource Shakespeare. Now What? If this post was helpful and you want to learn more about how to analyze literature and poetry, check out our step-by-step analysis of Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby. Studying for the AP Literature exam already? Here’s the ultimate AP literature reading list that will help you ace your AP exam. There are two AP English tests: the AP Literature exam and the AP Language Composition exam. Learn more about the AP Language Composition test and how it differs from its literary equivalent here.

Glass in Architecture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Glass in Architecture - Term Paper Example The main focus of this paper will be on the architectural use of glass in construction of structures and components of structures. Glass comes in various forms and types. They vary from look, weight, texture and color among other aspects and in this paper we will look deeper and further into the types of glasses and their properties focusing mainly on three types of glass namely; float glass, tempered glass and laminated glass. The paper will also look to discover the implications of each and every type of glass, mentioned above with relation to its structure of design in an architectural point of view. Characteristics and behavior of each type of glass will also be evaluated, and its effects in construction discussed1. Float glass is a type of glass that is forged or made by floating liquid form glass on molten metal still in its liquid form specifically the tin metal which is mostly used, and then allowing the glass to cool and harden. Tin is normally chosen because of its chemical ability to withhold molten glass in its liquid form and allows it to cool where it maintains the smooth liquid surface of the glass, after its hardening and leaves no space for a coarse feeling when the glass dries. Traditionally, glass was made by blowing molten glass or the liquid form of glass and then laying it on a flat surface when still hot and liquid before it has reached the cooling temperature. This has since changed, and the process has become much easier compared to the traditional one. From the floating process, the result is a flat, smooth and an even sheet of glass which can be made into thick or thin flat sheets and also in different sizes, which can be, further resized into small panes depending on the purpose for which the glass was formed to serve. Float glass is commonly made from a fusion of lime and soda, and the process for making this type of glass is also known as the Pilkington process. This type of glass is mostly used for making window panes, a