Public Health, Safety, And The Environment - 750 Words

Since there is such a large amount of food waste, where does it go? Although not all food waste ends up in landfills, there is a large amount that does. Studies show that â€Å"food wastage in 2007 represented the production of 1.4 billion hectares of land, equal to about 30 % of the world’s agricultural land area, and larger than the surface of Canada† (â€Å"Global Food Wastage†). With landfills taking up such a large percentage of land, there is less land for farmers, housing, and other resources. Landfills also give off multiple dangerous chemicals. For example, landfills give off greenhouse gases, dioxins, furans, and mercury (â€Å"Public Health, Safety, and the Environment†). Landfills are also a severe cause of deforestation. Also, landfills take†¦show more content†¦An example would be the rise in the migration to urban areas and rapid changes in what foods are wanted by consumers. As people begin to move into urban areas, the amount of f armers and help begin decreasing. Research has proven that the popularity for urban environments is in a constant rise. Sadly, recent observations have concluded that â€Å"the proportion of the world’s population employed in agriculture has declined in recent decades and 50 per cent of the world’s population now lives in urban environments. This proportion is expected to rise to 70 per cent by 2050† (Parfitt et al., â€Å"Food Waste within Food Supply Chains†). Being in shape or skinny has been important for many years. Seventy-seven percent of America’s population is trying to lose or maintain their weight (â€Å"Americans Concerned about Their Weight†). A fad diet is a popular diet that usually known for success. Fad diets usually change the foods consumed by the dieter. As the fads change, so does the demand for different types of food. As the demand for one food item increases, the demand of others decrease. Due to the constant changes, it is extremely difficult for farmers to plan what they need to grow. As farmers fail to predict the amount of crops needed, the extra food is more likely to become waste. As the predictability changes, farmers cannot make profit. This also leads to the decline of farms.

Unhealthy Lifestyles and Diet Free Essays

string(67) " there is no reason to believe that this trend is going to change\." An unhealthy lifestyle means more illness and more expense to treat those illnesses. This means a bigger burden on an already challenged healthcare system. Poor health also means more time lost at work, less quality recreational time, and even shorter lifespan. We will write a custom essay sample on Unhealthy Lifestyles and Diet or any similar topic only for you Order Now But the people in this modern day have a mindset that takes good health for granted. One can suffer from years of aches and pains, and would just ignore them, and then feel so surprised when one finds out one has developed a serious chronic disease. Majorities would usually leave their health to the hand of the doctors, relying on the advance medical technology, medical drugs when the fall sick. We have the choice to live a healthy lifestyle, but many chose to live just for today, enjoy life, and most of the time end up suffering in pain with chronic diseases and illnesses. Unhealthy Lifestyle There are many factors contributing to the degeneration of health among many people today. We live in a terribly polluted world. We are all exposed to thousands of toxins and chemicals every day at work, home, in the air, and in the food that we eat and water we drink. In addition, we are eating more processed foods than ever before in human history and we constantly abuse or bodies with pharmaceuticals We are constantly bombarded by fast food at every corner. And video games have led the majority of teens to spend countless hours in front of the television being sedentary. And, as a result of all of this, there exists a generation that is out-of-shape, overweight and obese. Many would spent hours on a couch in front of the picture box watching their favorite TV programs, together with several packets of snacks like potato chips and other junk food, and they don’t get up from your butt to move around for the next couple of hours, and that’s alright. Too much junk food being put into children’s hands. Children were introduced to fast food restaurant at a very young age by their parent, having been brought up in this environment, they grew up spending long hours of their free time there ,chatting with friends, galloping burgers, French fries and cups of Coke, without thinking of how nutritionally deficient foods would intoxicate their body, But do children understand that junk food or snacks like potato chips, burgers and fries have high levels of fat, sugar or salt and are simply unhealthy? Junk food which contains saturated fat increases blood cholesterol levels and therefore increases your risk of heart disease and some cancers. Smoking and drinking are two big habits that can affect your health and the way you feel. Smoking, in particular, is one habit to quit if you haven’t already because it greatly increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Alcohol can be fine in moderation, but when you are with some good buddies in a party, you may drown yourself with glasses of them without realizing how intoxicated your body is, it also can contribute to sleep problems and suppress your appetite, preventing you from eating well. Life is full of stress. Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. Work can be a stressful place, whether in an office, a factory, or a school. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Stress isn’t always bad. Some stress is good, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But too much stress is bad, when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life. Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. Public are generally dependent on medical drugs and are not aware that medical drug side effects are dangerous to their health. In the world today, Many people seems to think that they just want medicines and drugs to solve their health problems, they believe they can always seek medical assistance,. But what they are not aware of is that these pharmaceutical medications may have potential adverse reactions. Some of the most popular prescription drugs on the market are used for the treatment of arious conditions such as high cholesterol to depression to rheumatoid arthritis to sexual enhancement. Some of these pharmaceuticals drugs can cause serious problems such as liver damage, muscle pain and in some cases severe muscle breakdown and even death. When you go to a medical doctor and he gives you many packs of pills and capsules in various colours, shapes and sizes, drugs which are toxic to your liver and do crazy things to your health and metabolism, perhaps you obediently swallow t hose little poisons without considering what they are doing to your body. Polluted Environment The industrial revolution, technological advancement and modern transportation have seriously depleted oxygen levels in our atmosphere. Our obsession with carbon-based fuels for power generators, planes and automobiles consumes vast amounts of oxygen daily. Coupled with this is the huge reduction of our forested areas and all plant life as the need for timber and paper continues beyond our production capacity. At the present time, scientists have determined that our atmospheric oxygen concentration levels are being reduced by about 0. 8 percent every 15 years or so. Regrettably, at the moment, there is no reason to believe that this trend is going to change. You read "Unhealthy Lifestyles and Diet" in category "Papers" Toxic stress, toxic chemicals and air pollution (all of which are becoming more prevalent in our industrialized cities), as well as increased use of antibiotics, emotional stress (which produces adrenaline and adrenal-related hormones that use more oxygen), physical trauma (reduces circulation and oxygen supply) and infections (the body uses oxygen to fight bacteria, fungi and viruses). Frequent use of drugs also depletes your oxygen supplies at the cellular level. A shortage of oxygen in the blood could very well be the starting point for the loss of the immune system and the beginning point of health problems like cancer, leukemia, AIDS, seizures, nerve deterioration and candida. Future research will clarify the links between poor oxygen levels and disease. Initial symptoms of oxygen deficiency may include overall weakness, fatigue, circulation problems, poor digestion, muscle aches and pains, dizziness, depression, memory loss, irrational behavior, irritability, acid stomach and bronchial complications. When the immune system is compromised by a lack of oxygen, the body is more susceptible to opportunistic bacteria, viral and parasitic infections, colds and the flu. Oxygen deprivation can also trigger life-threatening diseases, as underscored by Nobel Laureate Dr. Otto Warburg’s assertion that cancer and other infections or diseases cannot live in an oxygen-rich environment. Poisonous agents from the household items. Our bodies are absorbing the harmful chemicals surrounding the environment today. It is thus imperative that we clean up our living environment as much as possible. Those regular detergents, soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and perfumes that we uses today contain many chemicals which are toxic to our bodies, some even carcinogenic. Although we don’t directly ingest them, these chemicals are absorbed by our skin, other harmful chemicals such as turpentine, arsenic, insecticides, paints, etc. Again, even though we don’t ingest them, we are constantly breathing in their gaseous fumes. Lack of Exercise. You just put in a good 10 hour day in front of your computer screen, and the last thing you want to do is exercise. Let’s see, exercise, and improve your fitness level, or sit down with a glass of wine and watch your favorite evening television show. What would you do? Seventy percent of individuals know they should exercise, but choose the wine and the television program instead. Do you know this simple daily decision can end up being detrimental to your health? Effects of irregular eating or skipping meals †¢ Mouth ulcers †¢ Acidity and heart burn †¢ Nausea †¢ Constipation †¢ Lowered blood pressure †¢ Elevated uric acid (kidney disease) †¢ stresses brain and body †¢ Fat Storage Eating breakfast primes your metabolism and helps set its pace for the day, says Michelle A. Gordine, M. D. , author of the book â€Å"Reclaiming Our Health: A Guide to African-American Wellness. † By contrast, skipping breakfast puts your body in starvation mode, an energy conservation setting of your body’s metabolic machinery that promotes fat storage and discourages calorie-burning. †¢ Blood Sugar Skipping meals, particularly breakfast, can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels. After fasting overnight, your blood sugar levels may be at their lowest ebb of the day. Skipping this meal can result in hypoglycemia — dangerously low blood sugar — which can cause you to feel dizzy or sleepy and overeat to compensate. A spike in blood sugar from a large afternoon meal leads to a late afternoon blood sugar drop, sending you on a blood sugar roller coaster, according to Roberta Larson Duyff, author of the â€Å"American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. † Instead, try cutting back on dinner and shifting the bulk of your calorie intake toward the first half of the day. You may find that eating this way gives you more energy when you need it the most. After doing this for a few days you’ll naturally become hungry at breakfast time. †¢ Malnutrition Older adults who experience decreased appetite as a function of aging may be in danger of malnutrition from skipping meals, according to nutritionist Sari Edelstein, Ph. D. , R. D. , author of the book â€Å"Life Cycle Nutrition: An Evidence-Based Approach. † Aging also brings with it decreased nutrient absorption. The combination of the two is a recipe for potential nutritional deficiencies. Early intervention can prevent weight loss and other serious health consequences, such as osteoporosis and decreased immune function. Brain Function Maintaining even-keeled blood sugar levels ensures that your brain and muscles receive a steady supply of glucose, their preferred fuel source. Eating regular meals results in better mental acuity, learning and memory, improved work performance and better strength and endurance. Your attitude toward work or school may also improve and you might find that your demanding boss or that irritating co-worker aren’t as unreasonable as you previously thought. †¢ Blood Sugar Drops and Spikes One of the most important reasons that skipping meals is unhealthy is due to the affect this has on your blood sugar. When you eat a meal, your body breaks up the food. Some of this food is stored as fat, while other parts of it enter your bloodstream as sugar, and work to provide you with energy throughout the day. When you skip a meal, your blood sugar drops dramatically. This not only can make you feel sluggish and tired, but it can also wreck havoc with insulin in your body. If you chronically skip meals, you can be setting yourself up for the development of diabetes later in life. †¢ Inadequate Nutrition Another important reason why skipping meals is unhealthy is due to the fact that you are more than likely not receiving adequate nutrition. Eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats helps not only to ensure that your body functions properly, but can also help in the treatment and prevention of a number of serious conditions. Some conditions that can be improved with proper nutrition include cardiovascular disease, strokes, and some types of cancer. You may believe that you can skip meals and still achieve optimal nutrition by supplementing your diet with multivitamins. And while multivitamins do have their place, research has shown that these pills aren’t as effective as real food at providing your body with what it needs. For good health, try to eat as naturally as possible. †¢ Altered Metabolism You  typically  skip meals for two main reasons. One,  you are ultra busy and don’t have enough time to grab a quick snack, or two, you are trying to lose weight. If you are one of the people who are trying to lose weight, you may be actually sabotaging yourself by skipping meals. When you eat, your metabolism, which is one of your body’s functions, works to break the food down into smaller, usable parts. When you skip a meal, your metabolism has nothing to do. In a way, your metabolism is like a muscle. You must use it, or you will â€Å"lose it. † When your metabolism does not have to work to break down food, it begins to slow down. Then, the next time you do actually eat something, your metabolism is not able to break the food down as quickly, and as a result the food is stored as fat. Therefore, in order to maintain a healthy weight (or even lose weight), it is essential that you eat regularly throughout the day. Recent research has found that five to seven small, regularly timed meals eaten over the course of a day works best when trying to maintain a healthy weight. The Effects of Sleep Deprivation Neurologic Effects Sleep deprivation mimics the effects of drinking alcohol — you may experience slurred speech and uncontrolled reflexive movements of the eye called nystagmus. You may also develop a slight shakiness or tremor in your hands. Some people even have a more pronounced droopiness in their eyelids, called ptosis. Various other neurological reflexes can change in sleep deprivation. These are unlikely to causes symptoms you would notice. However, if your doctor were to test them, you may have sluggish corneal reflexes, a hyperactive gag reflex, and hyperactive deep tendon reflexes. In addition, you may have a reduced threshold for seizures. As a result, people with epilepsy are at greater risk for seizures when they’re sleep deprived. One thing that you may notice right away is an increased sensitivity to pain. Studies have shown our sensitivity to heat and pressure pain is especially enhanced when we don’t sleep enough. Also, there is reported to be an increased sensitivity to pain in our esophagus, as might occur in the setting of nighttime heartburn Vital Sign Changes Research studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation may cause subtle changes in your vital signs. Vital signs are important physiological markers that are often tracked as part of a general health assessment. These include: †¢ Body temperature †¢ Blood pressure †¢ Heart rate †¢ Breathing rate †¢ Reduced decision-making skills †¢ Poorer memory †¢ Reduced concentration †¢ Reduced alertness †¢ Shortened attention span †¢ Slower than normal reaction time †¢ Poorer judgment †¢ Reduced awareness of the environment and situation †¢ Reduced work efficiency smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and drinking too much increased the risk of dying by such a large degree that it was the equivalent to being 12 years older. How to cite Unhealthy Lifestyles and Diet, Papers

Reckitt Benckiser Supply Chain in Practice free essay sample

Company Background Benckiser was founded by Johann A. Benckiser in 1823. It is a business derived from industrial chemicals. Over years of development through innovations and various acquisitions, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is now a world leader in household, health and personal care. Today it is the global No. 1 or No. 2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional rate of innovation typically about one third of net revenue comes from innovations launched in the prior 3 years. It has a strong portfolio led by 19 global powerbrands which are: Finish, Lysol, Dettol, Vanish, Woolite, Durex, Calgon, Airwick, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Veet, Nurofen, Clearasil, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl and Frenchs, and they account for 69% of net revenue. The company operates through eight business segments: fabric care, surface care, health and personal care, home care, dishwashing, pharmaceutical, food, and other household. More than 75% of net revenues in 2007 were generated by brands that are either leading in the market or ranked second in their markets. In the fabric treatment section, Vanish leads the fabric segment globally so does Calgon in the water softeners segment and Lysol and Harpic brands in lavatory care egment. Furthermore, Dettol, Veet and Strepsils are the number one brand in antiseptic personal care products, depilatory products and throat tablet segment respectively while Nurofen, an analgesic, ranks second in Europe. Also, Clearasil is ranked as the number two anti-acne treatment worldwide. The companys Air Wick is ranked second in the air care segment worldwide. This strong portfolio of brands significantly fuels the revenues and profitability of the company. In terms of management structure, it is organized in such a way that there are three areas in the world: Europe, which includes Eastern Europe and Turkey; the Americas†North America plus Australia and New Zealand, which are very similar markets; and are called the developing markets, the rest of Asia (excluding Australia and New Zealand), Africa and Latin America. Each of these areas has a head of business, and below them are regional directors who run the specific regions. They, in turn, work alongside a category development organization, which is responsible for making sure that brand strategies are developed and implemented, as well as for developing a pipeline of new products for these brands. They work with the marketing and RD departments to make sure the right communications strategies in place . Supply Chain Management at RB 2. 1. Overview Rds supply chain and logistics is a global perspective and has about 41 production facilities worldwide including countries from Europe to North America, Africa to New Zealand. The company has a wide range of wide-range policies and procedures to protect their supply chain, Code of Business Conduct, reputation and Manufacturing standard. 3. Supply Chain Improvement Initiatives of Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Management According to the Rds Annual Report and Financial Statements 2011, RB believes its culture and passion for its people (RB employees) are its greatest competitive dvantage. The people are entrepreneurial, innovative, internationally diverse, dynamic and driven by a strong sense of ownership. RB continues to attract best management talents; retaining them by investing on the performance oriented remuneration policy which paid managers for excellent performance. RB has 25 formal training modules for middle management and Top 400 international managers (T400). During 2011, the Group ran over 80 courses on these modules, training over 652 people. At RB, Management is international and is trained through rotation in international postings both in countries and in the Groups central unctions. Succession planning is a critical management discipline and is reviewed annually (at least) by the full Board and the Executive Committee. RB closely monitors the Top 400 international managers (T400). The T400 being a multi-national management team reduced the added complexity of managing work in different languages, currencies and different political and legal systems thus giving a competitive edge over other companies. Technology Technology plays a major role in improving the efficiency of Supply Chain Systems. It helps organisations to better manage their supply chains, as supply chain anagement applications built on technology platforms enhances the ability of organisations to integrate their processes through collaborative information sharing and planning (Charles et al. 2001; Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). Some of the technologies RB used to improve their supply chain in recent years include: 1 . Implementation of Microsoft Windows Server TM 2003 Enterprise Edition with Active Directory This was done to simplify the complex IT infrastructure and introduce a centralized management system. RB nas operations in 60 co untries, sales in 1 countries and annual net revenue in excess of E3billion (US. $5. 8billion). RB was formerly using a Microsoft Windows NT Server 4. 0 Operating System through 96 domains and 720 servers. Approximately 9000 clients were spread throughout the domains and each one was managed with its own unique set of common rules and procedure. Through the investment in Microsoft windows server 2003 enterprise edition, they were able to reduce the number of domain to 3 and servers to 627. This helped in creating a central network system and provided a good and robust environment for managing Rds operations this because many of its application drive critical processes such as placing orders and providing real-time in response for roduction and shipment of goods. 2. Xtrim Xtrim optimization system is software which offers solutions for advanced planning and scheduling. This helped RB in cost saving. Another such cost saving program called the Squeeze 50 was also used by them. These programs helped push Rds operating margins up 0. 8 percent to 13. 4 percent in the year 2003. 3. The Xpress-MP Operational data of procurement, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution were collected and an optimization model was created using Xpress-MP software. The model basically demonstrated how costs could be reduced for a given supply chain configuration. This software helped the senior management at RB to analyse the potential impact of changes in risk free environment save up to ten percent annually 4. Reverse Engineering For the past few years, RB has been using a method of re-engineering in making, packaging and distributing their products. The company has been working with its partners across the supply chain finding way of consuming less energy, both directly and in the materials and packaging used to make its products. It has been reported that 25% of Rds manufacturing energy use already comes from more sustainable sources such as highly efficient or renewable energy (http://www. . com/carbon20/ how-we-will-achieve-it) Outsourcing To improve its on-time delivery performance, RB outsourced its transportation to Ryder in North America. Ryder transports raw materials into the manufacturing plants and finished goods from these plants to the logistics centre and then to the customer (Edge, a Ryder system Inc, publication). Investmen ts RB and other worlds largest the worlds largest food, beverage and consumer product manufacturers came together and created an open, standards-based industry-led marketplace (transora. com) that delivers breakthrough value to all participants in the consumer value chain. This business arena helped improved areas like procurement in the supply chain by providing services such as auction/ reverse auction capabilities, vendor catalogs, strategic sourcing and of course e- procurement for both direct and indirect materials. Shared Transportation To reduce the environmental impact and cost of product transport RB decided to combine truck Journeys with other companies, so that there were no empty running of truck on both inward and outward leg of the Journey. They even contracted third- parties to combine less than a truck load shipments together. Recommendations Focus on sustainability In relation to SCM, sustainability according to UN Global Impact, 2010 is the management of environmental, social and economic impacts and the encouragement of good governance practices, throughout the lifecycles of goods and services. A major approach to this challenge is collaboration with companies in terms of physical logistics such as shared transportation and physical infrastructures. Even though RB has started practicing this especially in the aspect of transportation, it is strongly recommended that, more effort should be put into this approach so to be able to operate a sustainable supply chain. Increase in logistics cost

The Mirror with a Memory Essay Example

The Mirror with a Memory Essay I read an essay, The Mirror with a Memory written by James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle.As a photography student, I find this essay very interesting. It does make an impact on me in some ways.For many years, people were debating the issue about whether or not photography is art?I feel that this essay did help my perception in considering photography as an art or not.The main idea of the essay is that pictures present a distant meaning to a story and have an impact on the audience while showing a picture of reality. Sometimes, written history is not necessarily that important in the history of photography.The bodies of paragraphs will point out the importance of history of immigrants during that period such as, how does muckrakers such as Jacob Riis make an impact on journalist history during late 1800s and early 1900s, the assumption on Old immigrants vs. New immigrants, and lastly, my opinion with The Mirror with a Memory. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were about 2 million immigrants who arrived in New York City.This caused a lot of poverty problems in terms of quality of life in New York City. There also were a lot of problems in another American cities as well. Epidemics such as typhus, scarlet fever, cholera, and many more spread through the cities.There was a lack of indoor plumbing and running water.The countless list of problems that new immigrants faced every day in their lives almost destroyed their dreams of pursuit for happiness, wealth, and better lives.It was said that realtors renovated many mansions of the rich so they were able to put as many families as they could in one mansion.This shows the hardship in each Americans daily lives as every family member, from children to adults, had to work so hard to support themselves.The essay, The mirror with a Memory vividly describes how they actually

The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone essays

The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone essays Alexander Graham Bell is remembered today as the inventor of the telephone, but he was also an outstanding teacher of the deaf and a prolific inventor of other devices. Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a family of speech educators. His father, Melville Bell, had invented Visible Speech, a code of symbols for all spoken sounds that was used in teaching deaf people to speak. Aleck Bell studied at Edinburgh University in 1864 and assisted his father at University College, London, from 1868-70. During these years he became deeply interested in the study of sound and the mechanics of speech, inspired in part by the acoustic experiments of German physicist Hermann Von Helmholtz (1821-1894), which gave Bell the idea of telegraphing speech. When young Bell's two brothers died of tuberculosis, Melville Bell took his remaining family to the healthier climate of Canada in 1870. From there, Aleck Bell journeyed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871 and joined the staff of the Boston School for the Deaf. The following year, Bell opened his own school in Boston for training teachers of the deaf; in 1873 he became a professor of vocal physiology at Boston University, and he also tutored private pupils. Bell's interest in speech and communication led him to investigate the transmission of sound over wires. In particular, he experimented with development of the harmonic telegraph a device that could send multiple messages at the same time over a single wire. Bell also worked with the possibility of transmitting the human voice, experimenting with vibrating membranes and an actual human ear. Gardiner Hubbard (1822-1897) and Thomas Sanders, fathers of two of his deaf pupils backed Bell financially in his investigations. Early in 1874, Bell met Thomas A. Watson (1854-1934), a young machinist at a Boston electrical shop. Watson became Bell's indispensable assistant, bringing to Bell's experiments the crucial ingredient that had been la...

Summary and Review of Proof, a Play from David Auburn

Summary and Review of Proof, a Play from David Auburn Proof  by David Auburn premiered on Broadway in October 2000. It received national attention, earning the Drama Desk Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Tony Award for Best Play. The play is intriguing with fascinating dialogue and two characters who are well-developed and an academic, mathematical theme. It does, however, have a few downfalls. Plot Overview of Proof Catherine, the twenty-something daughter of an esteemed mathematician, has just laid her father to rest. He died after suffering from a prolonged mental illness. Robert, her father, had once been a gifted, ground-breaking professor. But as he lost his sanity, he lost his ability to coherently work with numbers. The audience quickly learns: Catherine is brilliant in her own right, but she fears that she might possess the same mental illness which ultimately incapacitated her father.Her older sister wants to take her to New York where she can be cared for, in an institution if need be.Hal (a devoted student of Roberts) searches through the professors files hoping to discover something usable so that his mentors final years wont have been a complete waste. During the course of his research, Hal discovers a pad of paper filled with profound, cutting-edge calculations. He incorrectly assumes the work was Roberts. In truth, Catherine wrote the mathematic proof. No one believes her. So now she must provide proof that the proof belongs to her. (Note the double-entendre in the title.) What Works in Proof? Proof  works very well during the father-daughter scenes. Of course, there are only a couple of these since the father character, after all, is dead. When Catherine does converse with her father, these flashbacks reveal her often conflicting desires. We learn that Catherines academic goals are thwarted by her responsibilities to her ailing father. Her creative urges are offset for her propensity for lethargy. And she worries that her so-far undiscovered genius might be a tell-tale symptom of the same affliction to which her father succumbed. David Auburns writing is at its most heartfelt when father and daughter express their love (and sometimes despair) for math. There is a poetry to their theorems. In fact, even when Roberts logic has failed him, his equations exchange rationality for a unique form of poetry: Catherine (Reading from her fathers journal.)Let X equal the quantities of all quantities of X.Let X equal the cold.Its cold in December.The months of cold equal November through February. Another strong point of the play is Catherine herself. She is a strong female character: incredibly bright, but by no means prone to flaunting her intellect. She is by far the most well-rounded of the characters (in fact, with the exception of Robert, the other characters seem bland and flat by comparison). Proof  has been embraced by colleges and high school drama departments. And with a leading character like Catherine, it is easy to understand why. A Weak Central Conflict One of the major conflicts of the play is Catherines inability to convince Hal and her sister that she actually invented the proof in her fathers notebook. For a while, the audience ​is unsure as well. After all, Catherines sanity is in question. Also, she has yet to graduate from college. And, to add one more layer of suspicion, the math is written in her fathers handwriting. But Catherine has a lot of other things on her plate. Shes dealing with grief, sibling rivalry, romantic tension, and the slow sinking feeling of losing ones mind. She isnt terribly concerned about proving that the proof is hers. She is deeply annoyed that the people closest to her fail to believe her. For the most part, she doesnt spend much time trying to prove her case. In fact, she even tosses the notepad down, saying that Hal can publish it under his name. Ultimately, because she doesnt really care about the proof, we the audience dont care too much about it either, thereby diminishing the conflict. A Poorly Conceived Romantic Lead One more downside: Hal. This character is sometimes nerdy, sometimes romantic, sometimes charming. But for the most part, hes a dweeb. Hes the most skeptical about Catherines academic abilities, yet it seems that if he wanted, he could talk to her for about five minutes and discover her mathematical skills. But he never bothers until the plays resolution. Hal never states this, but it seems that his main contention against Catherines authorship of the proof boils down to sexism. Throughout the play, he seems on the verge of shouting: You couldnt have written this proof! Youre just a girl! How could you be good at math? Sadly, theres a half-hearted love story tacked on. Or maybe its a lust story. Its hard to say. During the second half of the play, Catherines sister discovers that Hal and Catherine have been sleeping together. Their sexual relationship seems very casual, but it does kick the level of betrayal up a notch when Hal continues to doubt Catherines genius.

The Use of Imagery as a Literacy Device Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Use of Imagery as a Literacy Device - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze a single literary device depicted in Poe’s story. In as much as the story has a number of literary devices irony as imagery remains a dominant element of the work. It is quite ironical at the beginning of the story with a description of Roderick. Since he believes most of his family members are suffering from hyper reactivity he also believes to be suffering from the same disease. This is ironical as he concludes to be suffering from Hypochondriac according to family history. For instance, the narrator says, â€Å"I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of extremely simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth.† (Poe 06) This was in support of the fact that he believed with no doubt the sickness was a family sickness. Consequently, the story reveals irony, which mak es the story fascinating as a disease, is only accorded one family. Despite Roderick and Madeline being a brother and a sister they are involved in an intimate relationship. For instance in the story, â€Å""Her decease," he said, with a bitterness which I can never forget, "would leave him (him the hopeless and the frail) the last of the ancient race of the Ushers." (Poe 16)This was a depiction of the relationship, which existed between the two, who were from a family of the ushers. It was, therefore, ironical for the two to engage in intimate relationship as this represented incest. This is evidenced in the book when he says,† And thus, as a closer and still closer intimacy admitted me more unreservedly into the recesses of his spirit,† In addition, a sulphureous lustle is displayed among the characters who perceive themselves as sister and brother. From this perspective, irony manifests itself clearly leaving readers wondering what type of characters the two were (Po e and Lanier 36). The house of usher is full of ironical happenings, for instance, Roderick buries her sister alive to fulfill his prophecy. According to his prophecy, the people suffering from hyperactive reactivity like his sister are supposed to get buried alive. This is ironical as to how one can bury another alive just because he feels she is sick. This is also ironical considering the incestuous relationship between Roderick and Madeline we expected him not only to show love to his sister as a lover, but also as someone passionate. It is expected when a person dies he does not resurrect; however, this is a common event in the story with Madeline resurrecting to meet his brother Roderick. This is an ironical representation of unnatural characters who portray a bizarre of menacing events. Distress and agitation fills the bizarre occurrence of events as Madeline struggles out of the vault full of her, own blood, this is a horrifying scene (Poe 56). Vampirism of the last part of t he story relays many messages to the readers who remain guessing what happened to the last duo of the family. In conclusion, irony becomes a major literary device used in the story dominating almost all the narration. The fall of the house of usher manifests a disappearance of the family, which mainly suffers from a disease, aroused hyper reactivity. Several instances depict irony staring with the intimate relation