Thursday, January 30, 2020
The Speckled Band Essay Example for Free
The Speckled Band Essay Both Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band share some of the characteristics of murder mysteries. Explain the similarities and differences between the two stories and say which story you think is more compelling to read. T he Speckled Band was written in 1892 during Queen Victorias reign over Britain. At the time the aristocratic society was paranoid about crime and rumours and myths about murderers such as Jack the Ripper did not help. The squalid chaos of a city (London) that hadnt changed much since Tudor times, with its dark narrow alleyways and badly lit streets created a haven for murderers, rapists, prostitutes and petty thieves. The arrival of a super sleuth character was obviously going to appeal to the literary clique. Sherlock Holmes was the solution to all their problems although in reality the Police Force was failing badly. In contrast Lamb to the Slaughter was written in a completely different era post-war, Elizabethan Britain, a period where attitudes and the Police Force had developed considerably from Conan Doyles Victorian London. The nations feeling had changed and had become more tolerant of women and including them more in a previously male world. However, the perfect housewife was still many womens idea of life. This is reflected in Mary Maloney, the stay at home idealistic wife and her devotion to her husband who, does not return this and wants to leave her for another woman. In The Speckled Band the mood is of heightened tension and curiosity as Dr Watsons daily routine is interrupted by the arrival of Miss Stoner, the stepdaughter of Dr Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran. She tells them of the demise of her sister Julia, the low whistle, the gypsies and the wild animals that the Doctor keeps. Holmes then receives a visit from Dr Roylott who threatens Holmes and Watson not to meddle in my affairs. Holmes and Watson then immediately travel to Stoke Moran, heedless of the Doctors warning, and go to see Miss Stoner in the family home. When they arrive, Holmes tells Miss Stoner about Dr Roylotts visit: good heavens he is so cunning that I never know when I am safe from him and they go and explore the manor. They learn that Miss Stoner is now sleeping When they are in Miss Helen Stoners room, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson find no reason for her to be moved out of her room. Whilst in Miss Julia Stoners room, there Holmes finds clues as to the cause of her death but does not tell Watson or Miss Stoner what he thinks. Holmes then tells Miss Stoner to spend the night in the local Inn while he and Dr Watson try to catch Dr Roylott. When Dr Roylott sets the Swamp Adder through the ventilator and down the bell rope Holmes beats it back and it bites Dr Roylott killing him. Lamb to the Slaughter is very different as the atmosphere is relaxed and contented with the six-month pregnant Mary Maloney waiting patiently for her husband to come home. She is sewing and has a whiskey and soda ready for Patrick Maloneys homecoming and all of this amounts to the feeling of peace. In Lamb to the Slaughter Mary Maloney, Patrick Maloneys wife, is waiting for him to come home from work. He tells her that he wants to leave her for another woman, she then goes to make dinner and pulls out a leg of lamb. Mary Maloney then hits her husband with the lamb and kills him. She then goes down to the grocers to give herself an alibi. She then comes home and rings the Police who conduct the investigation but end up eating the evidence: the leg of lamb. However some of the ways that Roald Dahl uses to describe Mary Maloney act as a warning as to what might happen: curiously tranquil this suggests that there is something odd about her as being tranquil is not normally tranquil. Also, there was a slow smiling air about her this has mysterious connotations and implies that there is something more to Mary Maloney than the reader first thinks. Dr Roylott is a very violent and psychotic character who has heated fits of rage: Dont you dare to meddle with my affairs I am a dangerous man to fall foul of . He is a physically huge man who uses intimidation to force people to do things. When Dr Roylott hears of Miss Helen Stoners proposed marriage, she suddenly dies, this indicates that because his late wife (and the girls mother) left them money to be given to them when they got married. Dr Roylott is on a very small income and if the girls got married then he would be broke. Also he is a huge broad man who is very strong and capable of bending Holmes iron poker. Conan Doyle makes it very obvious from the start that Dr Roylott is capable of murder and our suspicions are correct, he is the only character in the story who would murder. Dr Roylott is not successful because although he manages to kill Julia Stoner but before he can dispose of Helen Stoner Sherlock Holmes solves the case and accidentally kills Dr Roylott. Dr Roylott is not very believable in this day and age because the Victorians view of a murderer was a shifty looking character either very small and rat like or large and vicious. However nowadays we know that murderers can be anyone. Because of the Victorians etiquette rules and views, a female killer in Conan Doyles books would have caused a stir. However in Lamb to the Slaughter women were allowed a much freer role and so the idea of them becoming murderers was accepted by the readers. In both of the stories the villains (Dr Roylott and Mary Maloney) control the people around them, Dr Roylott controls people by threatening them with physical violence whereas Mary Maloney uses subtle emotional actions to convince the Police that shes innocent.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Macbeth Character Flaw :: essays research papers
Brian Bozarth                                        Bozarth 1 Mrs. Thurmond English IV – 6 February 22, 2001 Macbeth’s Tragic Flaw      Every one has a character flaw. Some are more serious than others. For instance, some people pick their nose, while others drink milk directly from the carton. After a while a person’s character flaws will come back to haunt them. Shakespeare is a master at pointing out one’s character flaws and showing how those flaw bring down that person or society in general. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth he does just that. Macbeth is a tragic hero whose character flaws are ambition and avarice.      The play opens with Macbeth, a popular noble who quells a military coup against the King of Scotland by a Scottish nobleman, Macdonwald. This is looked at by other nobles as and honorable deed. The King then gives Macbeth the late Macdonwald’s former title. In this instance ambition is a good thing: but alls to week for brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name (I ii 16). The king even said â€Å"O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman†(I ii 24). His ambition was use to do a good thing, but if you stop to think; would any of this happened had he not killed Macdonwald.      In the next scene we see the witches doing things that witches like to do. Then enters Macbeth with Banquo. They spot the witches and Banquo insults them. The witches turn to Macbeth and tell him he will be king: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter (I iii 50). That single line is what sparks Maspeth’s evil ambition. This is the also the point when Macbeth start to turn evil. The witches also tell Macbeth he will become Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth replies to all this: to be king stands not within the prospect of belief (I iii 75). At this point Macbeth is skeptical, but then Ross tells him he is thane of Cawdor. Macbeth starts to believe he can become king. He is now successor to the throne of Scotland.      Since Macbeth is heir to the throne of Scotland, all he has to do is get rid of King Duncan. In scene IV Duncan names his son the Prince of Cumberland. Macbeth is outraged:           The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step           On which I must fall down, or else o’erlap,           For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;           Let not light se my black and deep desires:           The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
About Myself
Nuclear Power is produced when a nucleus absorbs a neutron and splits into two lighter nuclei. This releases enormous amounts of energy which in turn produces heat. In fact the Uranium, which is the most common element used to produce nuclear power today, has an energy content about 3 million times greater than that of fossil fuel. Consequently 1 gram of Uranium is equivalent to approximately 3 tones of coal. Nuclear reactors harness the heat which is produced from the energy released when the atom splits and convert it into electrical energy. Current Nuclear Power plants require the the use of the rare Uranium isotope U-235 and consequently only use one fifth of the total energy content. Next generation reactors forecast to be available in 2020's will use all the energy in Uranium or the more abundant Thorium. Nuclear reactors produce vast amounts of radioactive waste including large amounts of very long lived radioactive atoms. These radioactive particles are a product of the splitting of the atom. We are constantly exposed to low-level radioactivity from cosmic rays from outer space and naturally occurring radioactive isotopes which in general do not cause any harm. However at high levels of exposure there are numerous biological effects of radiation. These cause cell death, cancer induction and can cause genetic damage. The waste of nuclear reactors is highly radioactive and long lived, and as a consequence must be isolated from humans for around 100,000 years. The current consensus is that Nuclear Waste should be disposed in secure containers and placed deep underground. Future technology promises to turn the long lived radioactive particles into shorter lived atoms.
Monday, January 6, 2020
The Revolutionary War Hero Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut in 1738. He fought in the American Revolutionary War. Allen was the leader of the Green Mountain Boys and along with Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775 in what was the first American victory of the war. After Allen’s attempts to have Vermont become a state failed, he then unsuccessfully petitioner to have Vermont become part of Canada. Vermont became a state two years after Allen’s death in 1789. Early Years Ethan Allen was born on January 21, 1738, to Joseph and Mary Baker Allen in Litchfield, Connecticut, Shortly after birth, the family moved to the neighboring town of Cornwall. Joseph wanted him to attend Yale University, but as the oldest of eight children, Ethan was forced to run the family property upon Josephs’ death in 1755. Around 1760, Ethan made his first visit to the New Hampshire Grants, which is presently in the state of Vermont. At the time, he was serving in the Litchfield County militia fighting in the Seven Years’ War. In 1762, Ethan married Mary Brownson and they had five children. After Mary’s death in 1783, Ethan married Frances Fanny Brush Buchanan in 1784 and they had three children. The beginning of the Green Mountain Boys Although Ethan served in the French and Indian War, he did not see any action. After the war, Allen purchased land near the New Hampshire Grants in what is now Bennington, Vermont. Shortly after purchasing this land, a dispute arose between New York and New Hampshire over the land’s sovereign ownership. In 1770, in response to a New York Supreme Court ruling that the New Hampshire Grants were invalid, a militia named the â€Å"Green Mountain Boys†was formed in order to keep their land free and clear from the so-called â€Å"Yorkers†. Allen was named as their leader and the Green Mountain Boys used intimidation and sometimes violence in order to force the Yorkers to leave. Role in the American Revolution At the onset of the Revolutionary War, the Green Mountain Boys immediately joined forces with the Continental Army. The Revolutionary War officially began on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A major consequence of the â€Å"Battles†was the Siege of Boston whereby colonial militiamen surrounded the city in an attempt to keep the British Army from leaving Boston. After the siege began, Massachusetts military governor for the British, General Thomas Gage realized the importance of Fort Ticonderoga and sent a dispatch to General Guy Carleton, Quebec’s governor, ordering him to send additional troops and munitions to Ticonderoga. Before the dispatch could reach Carleton in Quebec, the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan and in a joint effort with Colonel Benedict Arnold were ready to attempt to overthrow the British at Ticonderoga. At the break of dawn on May 10, 1775, the Continental Army won the first American victory of the young war when it crossed Lake Champlain and a force that numbered around one hundred militiamen overran the fort and captured the British forces while they slept. There was not a single soldier killed on either side nor were there any serious injuries during this battle. The following day, a group of the Green Mountain Boys led by Seth Warner took Crown Point, which was another British fort just a few miles north of Ticonderoga. One major result of these battles was that colonial forces now had the artillery that they would need and use throughout the War. Ticonderoga’s location made the perfect staging ground for Continental Army to initiate their first campaign during the Revolutionary War – an invasion of into the British-held province of Quebec, Canada. Attempt to Overtake Fort St. John In May, Ethan led a detachment of 100 Boys to overtake Fort St. John. The group was in four bateaux, but failed to take provisions and after two days without food, his men were extremely hungry. They came across on Lake St. John, and while Benedict Arnold provided the men food he also attempted to discourage Allen from his goal. However, he refused to heed the warning. When the group landed just above the fort, Allen learned that at least 200 British regulars were approaching. Being outnumbered, he led his men across the Richelieu River where his men spent the night. While Ethan and his men rested, the British began to fire artillery at them from across the river, causing the Boys to panic and return to Ticonderoga. Upon their return, Seth Warner replaced Ethan as the leader of the Green Mountain Boys due to their losing respect for Allen’s actions in trying to overtake Fort St. John. Campaign in Quebec Allen was able to convince Warner to allow him to stay on as a civilian scout as the Green Mountain Boys were participating in the campaign in Quebec. On September 24, Allen and about 100 men crossed the Saint Lawrence River, but the British had been alerted to their presence. In the ensuing Battle of Longue-Pointe, he and about 30 of his men were captured. Allen was imprisoned in Cornwall, England for approximately two years and returned to the United States on May 6, 1778, as part of a prisoner exchange. Time After the War Upon his return, Allen settled in Vermont, a territory which had declared its independence from the United States as well as from Britain. He took it upon himself to petition the Continental Congress to make Vermont the fourteenth U.S. state, but due to Vermont having disputes with surrounding states of over the rights to the territory, his attempt failed. He then negotiated with Canadian governor Frederick Haldimand to become part of Canada but those attempts also failed. His attempts to have Vermont become part of Canada which would have reunited the state with Great Britain, eroded the public’s confidence in his political and diplomatic capabilities. In 1787, Ethan retired to his home in what is now Burlington, Vermont. He died in Burlington on February 12, 1789. Two years later, Vermont joined the United States. Two of Ethan’s sons graduated from West Point and then serve in the United States Army. His daughter Fanny converted to Catholicism and then she entered a convent. A grandson, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, was a Union Army general in the American Civil War.
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