Their Eyes Were Watching God: Summary Essay -- essays research papers

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A caterpillar crawls along a desolate branch. His many appendages grip the gray bark as he undulates his body along the path in the shade. Creeping steadily forward he is looking for the proper place suitable enough for him to change his identity. Upon finding a twig sprout where he can get bilateral support, he builds his cocoon. After his cocoon is finished the caterpillar crawls in for his metamorphosis. If one is to see a cocoon on a tree it does not resemble beauty, it is a bland piece of wound thread like material with a hole in the top. When one sees a butterfly they may look twice or stop what they are doing all together and chase it around following each of their sporadic movements as the hot sun illuminates and watches from above. Identity has changed. What once was a little ugly caterpillar that kids would go around squishing and people would flick from trees when given the chance, went on to be an ignored sack secured to branch. Nobody pays attention to the fact that beautiful butterflies are the results of these common eyesores. As the caterpillar grew older it matured and changed, from being stuck on land to airborne, from being ugly to beautiful, from being young to old. All living things mature, all things change, wherever time is a variable identities are changing. Janie is no different from these things, she too has a changing identity that can be traced throughout four...

A Battle to Your Death Essay

Advertisements for medications have been filling the pages of magazines ever since the first pharmaceutical companies have been synthesizing drugs. Since the late 1800’s, consumers have been exposed to medication advertised the same way that a company might push a new detergent to buyers. Heated debates have exploded in regards to drug advertisements, coming to head in recent years with attempts by government officials to limit the amount of ads that sell medication (â€Å"National Conference†). While one may look back on drug advertisements from fifty years ago and laugh because they seem elementary, they influenced members of society and they continue to do so to this day. Despite the obvious positive affects of pharmaceutical drugs, the constant bombardment of drug advertising has a negative affect on consumers at large. All through history, there have been people destined to heal. A cornerstone of medicine, from the earliest shaman to the now graduating medical school class, has been the drugs used to treat illness. See more: The stages of consumer buying decision process essay The advent of modern medicine, beginning in 1938, has seen a major expansion of prescription drugs (Tomes 627). Because medication has become such a large part in most people’s lives, pharmaceutical businesses have evolved. Not only do medication companies care about profits, but also they are also concerned with the safety and effectiveness of their drugs. These companies need a way to get these compounds out of the public, and they accomplish this in a way not possible for other businesses. Big Pharma – the term used to refer to major drug companies – uses two different types of advertising to reach the public (Sidiqi). What people see on the TV, the commercials for things such as Restless Leg Syndrome or Bipolar Disorder, is termed direct-to-consumer advertising, or simply DTCA. This is a common tactic for all businesses, including big pharma. However, unlike other products, medications are restricted in that they need to be prescribed by a physician. Everyone is able to go to the store to buy the new detergent on television, but not everyone can get the medication advertised on the television. Drug companies have a unique way of dealing with this problem – in addition to advertising to consumers, doctors are also targeted. Physicians are approached in hospitals much like one is approached by a car salesman – high-pressure tactics, quick talking and glossing over negative facts while playing up the positive. Detail men – representatives of each individual pharmaceutical organization (Silverman)– have several ways in order to â€Å"sell† their drug to a physician. Free lunches, vacations and various office supplies inscribed with the drug company’s logos are used as gimmicks in an effort to make doctors â€Å"side† with a pharmaceutical company – therefore making the physician prescribe their medication over another. With the advent of direct-to-consumer advertisement, people are constantly bombarded with messages and warning concerning their health. Seeing an ad for a new medication makes one contemplate their own health: â€Å"Am I eating well? † or â€Å"Should I quit smoking? †Ã‚   Although all forms of drug advertisements may have deleterious effects, DTCA may, with a small part of the population, serve to make people more aware of their health. With the arrival of websites such as WebMD, patients may also use the Internet in order to discover information significant to wellness. Although most want pharmaceutical companies to run philanthropically, they are subject to the same follies of any other industry. Money runs countries and economies, and in order to stay afloat, the pharmaceutical industry must focus their attention to profits. While big pharma gets a return of 14% profit (compared to 5% for the majority of Fortune 500 companies), those extra profits are used for research into new medication, in essence, going right back to the consumer (Tomes 630). Scientists and researchers cost a lot – therefore, drug companies must financially support research into new lines of medication. Most people work and live in such a way to attain better living conditions. The drive to increase wealth improves the medical community. Just like every market, drug companies try to make better products in order to out sell their competition – the idea being the best product â€Å"wins† in the market. If one medication is proven to be better than another, then the â€Å"losing† drug company will pour money into research to generate more sales. While new medications are being produced because of a laissez-fair market, many want government to step in. One of the biggest issues in this election year is socialized health care. More people than ever are focusing on the health of the impoverished. On more and more medication commercials, one sees or hears things such as â€Å"Having trouble paying for your medications? Astra-Zeneca can help. †Ã‚   Government officials, doctors and drug companies are beginning to cater to, and help save the lives of, the poor. Imagine for a moment, this scenario: A construction worker hurts herself outside the job. She does not quality for workman’s compensation because the accident did not occur on the clock, but she is in so much pain she cannot go back to work. Sitting in the free clinic (she cannot afford anything better – her construction firm does not offer affordable health insurance), a doctor sees her into the room. The doctors leaves the room, after assuring her that her injury is not serious, with an armful of medication – anti-inflammatories, pain killers and muscle relaxers to help. Pharmaceutical companies hand out free medications to physicians in order to help sell their product (Goodman, 232). What’s the difference between Tide, a company that makes laundry detergent, and Lilly, a company that makes prescription medication? One will get your clothes clean – the other will save your life. Drug companies demand that they be treated just as any other industry in regards to advertising to the public (â€Å"National Conference†). Big Pharma markets to both doctors and patients, trying to influence both to choose their medication over another. Both forms of advertising – pushing drugs on doctors and DTCA – are detrimental to public health and safety. Detail men are everywhere in the health care field. Walk into a hospital, a free clinic or a private doctors office, one thing remains the same – the tissue boxes, the pens and the clipboards. All these simple office supplies are â€Å"donated† from a drug company, bearing their insignia. While one may think it is only the new doctors, the ones that are not well versed in medicine quite yet, are the only ones that will actually be swayed by detail men, study after study proves this false. All physicians, old and new, are susceptible to this phenomenon (Goodman, 236). The implications for this can be disastrous. A close look at Vioxx details what happens when doctors listen to drug companies and not science. The more money spent on a medication, the more likely the medication will be prescribed (Goodman 237). Such is the case with Vioxx and Celebrex, a new class of anti-inflammatory drug called COX-2. Both of these drugs have lead to many deaths, massive recalls and suits from patients. Why would such a dangerous medication prescribed to patients? Shouldn’t the doctors know better? In 1999, the year that both drugs were released, a total of $4. 4 billion dollars was spent on advertising these drugs to both doctors and consumers. This advertising, â€Å"lead to overuse of these new and expensive drugs† (Schneider 140). Doctors and patients both accepted these new COX-2 medications, and there was no foresight into the dangers of this medication. Advertising, coupled with apathetic doctors, lead to hundreds of deaths. DTCA has its pitfalls as well. The use of advertisements on the Internet, television and the radio has drastically changed the doctor-patient relationship (Weber 172). No longer do people go to the doctor for advice. Rather, after looking on WebMD and deciding they have X disease, and seeing on television a drug to treat said disease, the patient storms into the doctors office, demanding a medication for a self-diagnosed disease (Weber 172). A layman cannot doctor himself and expect a healthy, good result. It leads only to misdiagnosis, unneeded medication and perhaps death. Stated earlier, drug companies have a fourteen percent profit margin, in contrast to Fortune 500 firms that make an average five percent profit. That means that drug companies make nine percent more in profits than some of the biggest companies in the world. Even one percent equals billions of dollars that pads the wallets of big pharma. Drugs are like candy in this country – â€Å"Americans apparently consume more prescription drugs than their counterparts in other developed nations, roughly twice as many per person as Europeans† (Tomes 630). As well as consuming more prescription drugs that any other developed country by two fold, Americans are the last to support poor nations with drugs to treat â€Å"AIDS, malaria, and other deadly diseases† (Tomes 632). That extra nine percent – billions and billions of dollars in extraneous profit – could be used to further the health of, not only this country, but also the entire world. The construction worker mentioned earlier benefited from free drugs. She could not afford them, but thanks to the population’s altruistic friends at big pharma, she received them free. Proponents would like people to believe this fallacy in order to keep their most successful way to advertise drugs – through doctors – alive. All social groups, not only the uninsured or poor, receive free medication. Experts have proven over and over that free medications does not help the poor as much as big pharma would like the public to believe (â€Å"Drug Samples,† â€Å"Free Drug Samples†). Pharmaceutical companies care only about patients when they are ill. This means big pharma wants more sick people, because sick people equal profit. Medicine corporations, besides not helping the poor, target against them. Because they cannot pay for medication, â€Å"the patterns [the researchers] found indicate that pharmaceutical firms may be directing their samples to physicians and clinics least likely to care for the uninsured† (â€Å"Drug Samples†). The purpose of those free hand outs is simple. No company will ever distribute free product, especially when that product needs to come in installments to be effective. If a doctor has a few days worth of medication, he is more likely to prescribe that medication to the patient out of convenience for both. For example, assume that someone comes into a doctor’s office with a cold, demanding relief. Whether or not the cold can be remedied by any medication (most colds are viral, and cannot be cured by antibiotics), the doctor, instead of educating the annoying, pushy patient, gives the him a box of medication in order to at least mentally sedate them. Free drugs are ways for pharmaceutical companies to get their medications prescribed. If a doctor has a box of a few pills to give to a patient in the office, he will prescribe the same medication (Wolfe 1). If the medication is once-a-day for X amount of days, and the doctors picks the medication of which he has a sample, that equals quite a big profit for the company. The so-called philanthropic free medication is just another marketing ploy for increased profits. While modern medicine depends on the positive effects of pharmaceutical medication, the non-corporal influences of prescription drugs has a largely harmful effect on society as a whole. Advertising life or death can never have a positive outcome. Drug companies manipulate the public in their advertising to doctors and patients. Next time you are at the doctor’s office, just think – has the treatment you are receiving been scripted by a man in a suit, offering your doctor a free lunch in exchanged for your health? Works Cited â€Å"Drug Samples Seen as Unlikely to Reach Poor or Uninsured. †Ã‚   Medpage Today. 4 January 2008. 2 November 2008. . â€Å"Free Drug Samples May Put Children at Risk. †Ã‚   Medpage Today. 6 October 2008. 2 November 2008. . Goodman, Bob. â€Å"Do Drug Company Promotions Influence Physician Behavior? †Ã‚   West J Med 174. 4(2001): 232-233. National Conference of State Legislatures; the Forum for America’s Ideas. â€Å"Marketing and Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. †Ã‚   2008. 22 Sept. 2008   . Tomes, Nancy. â€Å"The Great American Medicine Show Revisted. †Ã‚   Bull. Hist. Med. 79 (2005): 627 – 663. Sidiqi, Sarah. â€Å"Letters to the Editor; Pharmaceutical Influence? †Ã‚   The Nurse Practitioner 28. 5 (2003). Silverman, Milton, Philip R. Lee, and Mia Lydecker. â€Å"How the Drug Companies Kill One Million People a Year. † July-Aug. 1982. University of California. 4 Nov. 2008 . Weber, Lenoard J. Profits Before People? Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006. Wolfe, Sidnye. â€Å"Drug Advertisements That Go Straight to the Hippocampus. †Ã‚   Lancet 384. 9028 (1996): 632.

Nicomachean Ethics Essay

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote the Nicomachean Ethics, portraying the significance of studying the realms of ethics and political science. In his work, Aristotle focuses on the theme of how human beings can attain the chief human good—happiness—at which everything aims. Aristotle argues that ethics, the study of moral character, and political science, the branch of knowledge and analysis of political activity and behavior, must be closely studied together in order to fully grasp the meaning of and obtain the good way of life. Aristotle believes that there is only one goal, one ultimate end for every individual—that is eudaimonia, translated as happiness, not as a feeling but happiness as the highest human good or a life full of activity. He claims that a person should live a way of life distinct from the lives of animals, where they only live for the sake of living or pleasure. 1 As human beings, people should use their power of speech to communicate and make rational decisions within a polity, striving to live their lives up to their full potential and to their full capacity for a happy life. 2 The life of politics, the via activa, is thus the key to the chief good or the best life for humans; however, the life of action must be of certain type of quality, in accordance with reason, since different actions may lead to the good or the bad life. In other words, a person’s actions must be in line with arete, with virtue or excellence. 3 Possessing virtue is having the ability to realize the good things, and doing them at the right time and the right way to get things done. Virtues can result to two different ways: a good or bad life. For example, President Lincoln versus Adolph Hitler—both of these men possess the virtue of wisdom, although they have used them disparately, one ending a Civil War in peace and the other manipulating others to killing millions of innocent people. To make it to the good end, Aristotle claims that we must practice virtue by, giving it a certain type of character or ethical quality to our actions. 4 Although human cannot acquire virtue by nature alone, nature allows and gives us the capacity to acquire virtue by learning and through exercising them in our lives. 5 By constantly acting with virtue, we cultivate habituation and ultimately we do not need to be self-controlled to do what is just. Instead, we become accustomed to do what is right willingly and naturally. Activities of good ethics or good moral character are virtues. And so, to best learn and exercise these virtues is by incorporating political science in connection to ethics. Aristotle asserts that the science of politics, the highest master of science combined with many other sciences, must be very well studied, for it is where moral laws are examined and its end, including the ends of other sciences associated with political science, will be the chief human good of all society. 6 Therefore, Aristotle presents the idea that the state must play an important role to aim and shape a society of good citizens, incorporating what the good life is: the life of virtue. 7 The state must look after its citizens morally, creating a type of society that will allow people to have a political life together; consequently, this political life will give them the opportunity and the ability to realize their wide range of capacities and their ideal life. Without the state, humans will not be able to experience the good life, the life of action. They are not self-sufficient enough to work alone, for they need others to be self-sufficient and happy. 8 Having a community will give every individual a chance to experience the struggle within the polity, in which he or she can exercise his or her many virtues, whether it be the ability to be courageous in the face of danger, the ability to make better judgements, or the ability to resist pain in the midst of hard criticism. Consequently, they build up their ethos or character, cultivating them to eventually living a happy life. The life of struggle, of politics, is the life where humans can have the chance to develop their full capacities, abilities, and strengths to overcome many hardships and difficulties. 9 Having a strong state does not achieve full satisfaction; hence, the state must know what eudaimonia is in order to direct and guide its citizens. It is necessary for the state to study and establish what is just and what is ethics. In this way, the state could inculcate what is moral through laws and education. Acquiring the chief good starts at home. Aristotle argues that a good state support an educational system, for a society that promotes morality is the best way of cultivating habituation in young children. 10 Having this strong educational system in the state will successfully encourage parents of each household to train their young children in good principles, abiding by the set of moral laws established in the community; as a result, they will naturally apply their good habits in their daily lives and ultimately gain the perfect virtuous life. Connecting the study of ethics and political science together can bring the whole society into a healthy life of virtue. Ethics is the key in which politics can utilize and produce a good society. By knowing what is righteous and what is ethics, the state can make the ultimate life of happiness possible for its citizens. Political science plays the role of establishing and enforcing good and moral character through an effective system that can guide and habituate every part and class of society. Ultimately, having access to a superfluous life of activity in a way that is in line with reason will let individuals life life to the fullest, of virtue and of happiness.

Delivering Lily Essay

The author wrote his story in first person perspective. He started the story by his wonders how delivering a baby might be like. Phillip Lopate was definitely nervous but he knew he would try his best to support his wife. Throughout the story it stays imagery. You can almost feel their emotions and see the scenery. He also uses some dialogue going back and forth with his wife. It first takes place at their home waiting to make sure Cheryl’s contractions were occurring regularly. It almost seemed Phillip was more nervous than Cheryl. Once they arrived to the hospital they got assigned an empty room, â€Å"it was not cozy, it was not charming, it was not tiny, it was not big, it was not even decrepit, it had nothing for the eye to fasten on.† (Lopate 423) Cheryl and Phillip were both disappointed by the room. There were couple words I did have to look up for the meaning, but overall the sentence structures were simple to read. His description made it easy to feel you were actually in part of the story. Also when he described the nurses, it almost felt you knew their personality and what they look like. Phillip goes back and forth by what was happening at that time and his thoughts, I could almost feel I was in his perspective. I cannot relate to this story, but I can understand some situation he mentioned from watching movies and reading books. Many emotions were felt through this special time of Philip Lopate: anxious, nervous, impatient, joyous, blissful, cheerful, loving, and relieved the most noticeable. Phillip is a proud man, proud of his wife and proud of becoming Lily’s father. He wants to record every part of Lily’s life and is planning to write longer on her first year. On the last page, he mentions he will do anything to keep his writing piece alive. He definitely did succeed keeping Delivering Lily alive. Even though I was not able to relate, I am sure everyone who has delivered their baby could have related to this writing piece, but I did feel like I was there with him knowing every detail he was thinking. This story had used all the punctuation structures mentioned in Hieroglyphics from our homework assignment. It was interesting seeing other ways of using a semicolon and the dashes. Overall, the story was full of anxious and loving events on delivering Lily. Both happy parents are ready for the ir journey with their loving child Lily.

Cause and effect on hunter-gatherer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cause and effect on hunter-gatherer - Essay Example Proto-science can be alternatively called as the pre-science period but it had nonetheless contributed a lot to the development of established scientific methods. Simple observations of the workings of nature ensured survival of primitive peoples. It could include things like when animals will gather, where these animals drink and the various shrubs, berries and fruits of trees that are edible or poisonous (Hassler & Wilcox, 2008, p. 8). It can be described that life back then was very precarious that depended mostly on Nature on how Man manages to adapt himself to Nature. Seasons and weather patterns likewise have to be predicted with a certain degree of accuracy in order for men to prepare themselves. This paper tries to examine how these primitive societies managed to survive from the rigors and challenges of Nature from which we are descended. It is quite interesting to note that due to this preoccupation with adjusting to Nature, men had learned almost by instinct on how to interpret the world to ensure survival. It had become second nature (pardon the pun) in which men at those times behaved resulting into an in-built bias that served as a very survival mechanism by relating the cause to its effect. This is the discussion in this paper. The hunter-gatherer societies existed before man learned to develop agriculture. Due to the very nature of being entirely dependent on the vagaries of Nature, man has no choice but to become nomadic whenever and wherever there is plentiful food supply and where it is relatively safe for him to obtain such food supplies. Because of man’s innate capacity to learn and learn quickly, observation of Nature alone is not sufficient for him to survive. To be able to make sense of the observed patterns in Nature, man has to construct a model. This model is then used to resolve the ambiguities often seen in Nature. As a result of this tendency to avoid ambiguity, our brain’s circuits are predisposed to

The July plotters of 1944 were not courageous men whose purpose was Essay

The July plotters of 1944 were not courageous men whose purpose was honourable but reckless men who acted out of their own self interest How valid is this assessment of the July Plot of 1944 - Essay Example storted political circumstances of the country in Germany wiped out the war situation and Hitler’s public interaction has reduced in monthly visit in Berlin. The leaders of the conspiracy included Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, General Ludwig Beck, Lieutenant Colonel Claus, and Count Schenk von Stauffenberg, The conspirators like Himmler and Stauffenberg were suspicious and they had their own personal intentions than the unified goal. Stauffenberg took the responsibility to carry out the assassination attempt. During the time of German Campaign against Soviet Union, Stauffenberg became frustrated with Hitler’s misrule. Beginning of his career Stauffenberg has revealed his loyalty and responsibility to Hitler and to Nazi Germany. But towards the end of 1930s, like others Stauffenberg began to think that Hitler’s misrule pull the nation in to the disaster. Stauffenberg’s plan was to plant a briefcase with the bomb in Hitler’s conference room. Stauffenber g’s words reveal his will power and intention. The article remarks;† In August 1942, he told a friend: â€Å"They are shooting Jews in masses. These crimes must not be allowed to continue† (Peter, 2004 P. 2). After the unsuccessful attempt of July plot Stauffenberg was honored as a courageous warrior who made an unending fight against Hitler’s despotic rule. A dreadful reality is that the purpose of the conspirators has changed and it came to be observed by some of them as achieving the military honors themselves. Most of them have worked under Hitler’s administration in their past. Martin Collier, Philip Pedley state that; â€Å"In Berlin, the conspiracy was paralyzed by indecision and vacillation† (Martin Collier& Philip Pedley, 2005 p. 122) Field Marshal Witzleben was a soldier who participated in the event of July plot 1944. Witzleben and others were found guilty and sentenced to hang. His dreadful death proves that he was a courageous fighter. The following comment about the conspirators underlines