The Infinity Mirror Essays - Mirror, , Term Papers

The Infinity Mirror "Tularecito" is a myth about truth. Tularicito, just a character of that myth, is the focus for this glossed over fable. Steinbeck draws on this form of genre to present the idea that we are all a part of what happens to others, based upon our nature. The image presented of Tularecito is that of a demon, an idiot savant, a boy with a gift from God, and that gift's cost. He is a freak, a dangerous misfit, an innocent who does not need the constraints of reality. Tularecito is a test. The test is one of moral caliber. It is a test of the souls of the characters who overshadaow Tularecito. Pancho is a man that is both holy and sinful. His purfunctory act of church going becomes true belief as alcohol demons induce him to halucinate a deformed boy into an outcast from hell. He looks into his mirror and sees himself, becomes shaken, reforms. From Pancho's employer, Franklin Gomez, we get a cold hard look into society. We see a mother, knowing her son is to be hated and feared, and perhaps possibly killed, cannot face killing her son with her bare hands. She leaves the killing to exposure to the elements, enying herself a look into Tularecito. Franklin adopts Pancho's demon, and Tularecito transforms into a disadvantaged who has been gifted with talent. Tularecito becomes a man at the age of six, "The boy grew rapidly, but after the fifth year his brain did not grow any more," To Franklin, Tularecito is grace, and graceless. He is talented in all things of any physical strength, and well proficient in the creation of beauty, and an artist in the care for life of nature. The touch of Tularecito brings beauty, and life, and love to the world, until he becomes enraged, (should anyone endanger what came from the touch of his hand). Franklin looked into Tularecito's mirror and saw what Tularecito was. Authority views come from several directions. While one teacher sees Tularecito as a Pavlovian dog, needing to be trained, the other sees him as an idiot savant, needing only to be pushed into harmless fantasy. This leads a third view of Tularecito, one of a simple minded killer that needs to be locked up for his own good. Tularecito is viewed as less than human from the start. His name means "little frog", and his physical disabilities are seen by all, causing fear. Tularecito is a noble savage. Dangerous to look at but hiding the soul of God, hf is intimidating, a creator, and dangerously tempermental. As Steinbeck weaves his tale, it is obviously full of metaphors on the basic belief of our society that everything must be forced into a plausable category, fit for inclusion into the human race. Tularecito should never have gone to school. He would have been happy living at home, simple as he was. In the end society takes Tularecito and makes him a monster. Since monsters are not allowed into human society, Tularecito goes looking for a different society that he does belong to. Unfortunately this society doen not exist. Tularecito has no control over his perceptions of reality and fantasy. He searches for a world of fantasy, and in his efforts, he creates a hole. When this hole is covered up, it confirms Tularecito's belief in fantasy. Tularecito creates another hole, and waits for his fantasy to show. Tularecito has only one flaw. He believes that what he created should not be destroyed. Whenever this happens, should it be school, work, or fantasy, Tularecito defends his creations with the only thing he can understand, violence. It is not like true, calculated violence, but very much like a motor nerve reaction. He reacts with pure emotion and pain, and eventually he kills. Steinbeck tells an interesting story with Tularecito as a mirror. In fact, all the characters in the story are mirrors. As we look at them we see how we measure against them. But Tularecito is a mirror with an infinity of sides. He is a tool for testing human beliefs, one of which is that sometimes, it is better to leave things alone than to

The Value of Female Friendships

The Value of Female Friendships I met my girlfriend Dana in college, and in the years since then our friendship has grown exponentially. Nine years ago, Dana told me that she had breast cancer. Shes a survivor. In that timeframe, my marathon walking buddy Allison found out she had appendicidal cancer. She too is a survivor. With two very close girlfriends in the same situation- one that was certainly new to all of us- I found myself asking: How as a girlfriend do I handle this? What do I do to support them? Where do I look for answers? This is not an article about cancer. It is an article about the incredible life-force underlining the word girlfriend. Girlfriend Support I remember the moment I heard about Allisons cancer. I didnt want to talk with my husband, even though he is a great man and a caring friend of Allisons as well. I wanted to talk with my female friends. I wanted their advice, their hugs, their sincere listening while I asked ‘why? Seeking advice, sharing concern, providing support and love, I wanted to be around the women who understood how I felt and who, I hoped, would help me be a better friend to my friends going through one of lifes scariest situations. So, why are girlfriends so important? I dug in and studied my own need for female community and what pulled me toward my friendships as a primary support system in a time a great stress. I was especially curious to find out why couldnt I fill this need with my husband or through the wisdom of books, advisors or other communities? Was it just me? Turns out it wasnt. Relationship Research A little research led me to a captivating book that spelled out the answers to me. The Tending Instinct, by Shelley E. Taylor, unlocks some of the mysteries of women, men, and the biology of our relationships. The big ah-ha! I discovered in its pages is that this need for community with other women is biological; it is part of our DNA. Taylors book consolidated a variety of studies covering cultural factors, decades of research, anecdotal references- even the biological ties to the girlfriend concept in the animal kingdom. An unending stream of fascinating facts helped define why we as women are more social, more community focused, collaborative, less competitive and, above all, why we need our girlfriends. Consider these findings: Longevity - Married men live longer than single men, yet women who marry have the same life expectancy as those who dont. However, women with strong female social ties (girlfriends) live longer than those without them.Stress - For decades, stress tests focused solely on male participants, believing that all humans would respond in the same manner. When these same stress tests were finally conducted on females it was discovered that women dont have the same, classic fight or flight response to stress that men do. According to the research presented in The Tending Instinct, women under stress have the need to tend and befriend. We want to tend to our young and be with our friends. Time with our friends actually reduces our stress levels.More Stress - A study conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine found that when were with our girlfriends, our bodies emit the feel good hormone oxytocin, helping us reduce everyday stress. By prioritizing our female friendships and spending time with th ese friends, we take advantage of a very simple, natural way to reduce our stress. Even More Stress - Prairie voles, a monogamous rodent, have a similar response to stress. When a male vole is put in a stressful situation, he runs to his female partner. Female voles, when stressed, immediately run to the females they were raised with.Self-Esteem - A recent study by Dove indicated that 70% of women feel prettier because of their relationships with female friends. Its no surprise that our self-esteem is highly influenced by our girlfriends; this is important to understand for girls as well as women.The Health Factor - Women without strong social ties risk health issues equivalent to being overweight or a smoker- its that serious. Friendships Waning With all Ive discovered that is good about female friendships, I was disappointed to come across a national survey from 2006 that found a sharp decline in friendships. Research co-author Lynn Smith-Lovin, a sociologist at Duke University said, From a social point of view, it means youve got more people isolated. When were isolated, we dont have each other to help us through tough situations like hurricanes or fires, financial struggles or relationship changes, sadness or cancer. Without communities of women, we often miss opportunities to be involved in our cities, to learn from each other, to empathize with other women and to share the benefits of laughter and a heart-felt hug. As women, we sometimes need to be reminded what being a girlfriend means. Too often it takes an illness or loss to hit us with reality, realization, and appreciation of friendship. That reminder can also be as simple as a caring card, a hug or an e-mailed photo. Once in a while we simply need to take the time to think about our friends, stop and live in the moment, and if at all possible, celebrate that moment. Hear some bad news? Call a girlfriend. Have something great to celebrate? Share that celebration with a friend. Want to feel prettier, be less stressed, be healthier and happier? Spend some time with your BFFs. Like the scary, life-changing diagnoses of my dear girlfriends, recognize your own need for friendships and fill that need with time and memories together. Life is better together- with your girlfriends. NOTE: Research for this article primarily attributed to The Tending Instinct by Shelley E. Taylor. Additional information was received form Kappa Delta, NWFD facts, and the Dove Beauty study.

The research paper on the Vietnam War Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The on the Vietnam War - Research Paper Example The chief objective of this paper, however, is to analyse this historic war in relation to Martin Luther King’s seminal anti-war sermon â€Å"A Time To Break Silence†. While many tend to view the war as one that was ‘revolutionary’, King sought to critique the very underlying principle of war. At every level, he expressed his solidarity for those members of the clergy and the laity who critiqued the war and were sympathetic to the Vietnamese civilians. Though King’s speech is a clear articulation affirming the value of human life and liberty, my analysis would attempt to both analyse and question his perspective regarding the Vietnam War. King’s views regarding the land reforms that Ho Chi Minh had carried out during his tenure have been contested and attested by various thinkers. This paper shall try to incorporate these views into the body of the work and provide a balanced argument. The paper shall also look at the position of the poor peas ants in Vietnam who bore the brunt of the war. The land reforms in Vietnam, initiated as a means of the communist revolution in the nation was directed at the distribution of land among the peasants of the society and the displacement of the elite of the village that existed before the revolution. Through these, a new class would arise that would enable the birth of a free and noble nation, one that would be egalitarian in its principles. King’s concern for the rise of such a nation is partially a result of the Christian perspective of egalitarianism that he adopts in his speech as David Bromwich argues. He goes on to locate the root of king’s concern as the need for viewing the people of Vietnam as brothers, in an explicitly Christian manner, without the arrogance of the western man that king argues was responsible for the attitude of the people who wanted to recolonize Vietnam, namely the French and the Americans (Bromwich). This causes him to however, take up a stan ce that is heavily in favor of the Ho Chi Minh administration. In an effort to assert the importance of the Christian point of view, King belittles the importance of the forces of nationalism that were instrumental even in the resistance that the Vietnamese peasants offered to the occupying forces. King, in his speech gives a dominant position to religion. Even this position is not free of its own political implications. King imposes his beliefs while talking of a population that is hardly Christian in its beliefs. Even though King refers to a quotation by the Buddhist leaders of Vietnam, the passage that he chooses to include is one that has no religious overtones. Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism. (King) This is characteristic even of the earlier proponents of colonization, whose methods and ideologies