Exceptionalities in a classroom Essay Example for Free

Exceptionalities in a classroom Essay

Common Motifs of Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- Biography

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His first book was published in 1827. In 1829 Al Aaraaf Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, Poe's second book was published. Poe became the editor of The Southern Literary Messenger in 1834 after his lawyer persuaded them to publish some of his stories and make him an editor. During this time his mark on American Literature began. Three of Poe's well-known stories are â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, which was published in 1846, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart, which was published in 1843, and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, which was published in 1842. In these three stories like most of Poe's stories they deal with the deep, dark, psychological side of the human brain. In Poe's short stories â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, Poe use three common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness. The meaning of death is the permanent end of all life functions in an organism or part of an organism. Death can take different forms, sickness, revenge, hate, misunderstandings, love. Death is one of the main motifs in all two of the three short stories, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Montresor kills Fortunato in revenge, and although death is mentioned in â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† there is actually no form of death even though it was close to happening. â€Å"..I felt that I tottered upon the bring – I averted my--...An out stretched arm caught my own as I fell fainting into the abyss. It was that of General Lasalle† (The Pit and the Pendulum p. 10). In â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† where Fortunato was chained to a wall and then bricked into a little cavern filled with bones and then the room was set on fire. â€Å"I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture ... ... he starts to think more of how he may die. When he is finally pushed over the edge of the pit, which could be considered being pushed over the edge of insanity, everything comes rushing back to reality when he is grabbed by a General. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, all have common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness. Each story has their own special way of showing the three different motifs. In all three stories these three motifs were connected in some way. Someone was afraid of something or someone, which drove them mad, which led them to kill someone. In the case of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† death was caused by revenge, and hate. Death, fear and madness are all common themes in a lot of Poe's work. They add depth and different perspectives to look at things from. They all make the stories what they are.

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin Essay

George Washington is a revered figure in history. He was the first President of the United States and one of its beloved Founding Fathers. He was â€Å"Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army upon whose victory the thirteen colonies depended to secure their separate and equal station among the powers of the earth† (Rediscovering George Washington, 2002, Introduction, para. 2). The usual facts aside, George Washington is a study of contrasting character traits, modesty and pride. Washington lived up to his legendary self with an immense awareness of who he was. In the book, Portrait of America (Oates & Errico, 2003), Gordon S. Wood points that Washington’s greatest asset is his character; that he was representative of the 18th-century iconic image of a great man of virtue (Essay #10, II, para. 7 & 8). The eighteenth century was a very different era in many respects from the present that his personal concerns then may sound preposterous now. For example, Wood (2003) detailed that Washington was notoriously aloof in keeping with the image of a classical hero (III, para. 5), something that is bane nowadays for someone who occupies or dreams of coveting the highest office of the land. Wood (2003) exposed that Washington was very meticulous of himself especially in the company of others constantly cultivating the ideals of being a proper gentleman from his physical bearings to his personal manners(II, para. 15). He certainly considered his reputation his treasure and he protected it all his life (III, para. 6). There lies his enigma, the possession of two contrasting traits, modesty and pride. Wood (2003) further emphasized that it was his moral character that set him off from other men (II, para. 7). This moral steadfastness has served him well in tempting moments. It is worthy to know that Washington acknowledged but was quite insecure about his lack of formal education compared to his learned peers. Self-criticism impeded his actions like his refusal to travel to France finding to have a conversation through an interpreter indignant to a man of his stature, as Wood (2003, II, para. 16) pointed out. This shortcoming produced a very modest man who had the humility to surrender his powers and retreat from public life, an unprecedented act in the Western world (Wood, 2003, III, para. 2) and which only enhanced his image of greatness. Throughout history, the intoxication of power has often cultivated greed out of its possessors. Coming out of retirement and leading the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, Washington’s untarnished reputation was crucial to the ratification of the proposed Constitution. His reputation then at stake, he worked hard to have it ratified (Wood, 2003, IV, para. 1). This was the typical Washington work ethic: a concern for validation of his deliberate act in the eyes of his peers then and for the future generation. Being the President of a young nation, Wood (2003) pointed that â€Å"Washington was keenly aware that everything he did would set precedents for the future† (V, para. 1). His political contributions are still pervasive today, a testament to his leadership endurance. Wood (2003) concluded that Washington was responsible for establishing the president’s independent role and for making him a dominant figure in the government. He also set the Senate’s limited advisory role to the president in the making of treaties and the appointment of officials. Most importantly, he single-handedly institutionalized the two-term limit of the presidency that it was included in the 22nd amendment to the Constitution in 1951 (V, para. 2, 3, & 7). Another outstanding Founding Father who is best known for his scientific pursuits than his understated political contribution is Benjamin Franklin. In Portrait of America (Oates & Errico, 2003), Richard B. Morris (Essay #6) described Franklin at the beginning of his essay as â€Å"deceptively simple and disarmingly candid, but in reality a man of enormous complexity†. Like George Washington, Franklin was also concerned about living a virtuous life although he was a much more relaxed character than the famous general. Franklin is one who â€Å"seems made of flesh rather than of marble† (Isaacson, 2003). Both bettered themselves through purposeful self-improvement to make up for their lack of formal education. Franklin was blessed with a myriad of talents he used wisely: he was a writer, printer, entrepreneur, skilled negotiator, diplomat, scientist. He espoused such virtues of diligence, frugality, self-discipline, honesty. He loved making lists and the most significant of such is â€Å"as a young man, he made a list of personal virtues that he determined should define his life† (Isaacson, 2006). Franklin used his pen for his causes proving the commonly known expression, the pen is mightier than the sword. As a prolific writer Franklin wrote under the pseudonyms Mrs. Silence Dogood, a character that showed â€Å"the quintessential genre of American folksy humor† (Isaacson, 2006) then later showed more of his humorous side as Poor Richard Saunders for his annual almanac. Satirical writing is still in practice today especially in the criticism of public figures. His affable nature enabled him to successfully temper dissension during the heated deliberations of the proposed Constitution. He was against tyranny especially slavery despite him having black slaves in 1757. He never hesitated to promote his advocacy for freedom of the press and expression, still very much one of the prevalent rights issues in society today. References Isaacson, W. (2003, June 29). Citizen Ben’s Great Virtues. Time Magazine Online. Retrieved October 16, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.time. com/time/2003/franklin/bffranklin. html. Morris, R. B. (2003). Meet Dr. Franklin. In Oates, S. B. , & Errico, C. J. (Eds. ), Portrait of America: Volume One: To 1877 8th Edition (Essay # 6). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Rediscovering George Washington (2002). PBS. Retrieved October 16, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www. pbs. org/georgewashington/father/index. html. Wood, G. S. (2003). The Greatness of George Washington. In Oates, S. B. , & Errico, C. J. (Eds. ), Portrait of America: Volume One: To 1877 8th Edition (Essay # 10). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Black History Month - African American Inventors, L

Black history inventors are listed alphabetically. Each listing has the name of the black inventor followed by the patent number(s) which is the unique number assigned to an invention when a patent is issued, the date the patent was issued, and a description of the invention as written by the inventor. If available, links are provided to in-depth articles, biographies, illustrations, and photos on each individual inventor or patent.   Lewis Howard Latimer #147,363, 2/10/1874, Water closets for railway cars (co-inventor Charles W.Brown)#247,097, 9/13/1881, Electric lamp, (co-inventor Joseph V. Nichols)​#252,386, 1/17/1882, Process of manufacturing carbons#255,212, 3/21/1882, Globe supporter for electric lamps (co-inventor John Tregoning)#334,078, 1/12/1886, Apparatus for cooling and disinfecting#557,076, 3/24/1896, Locking rack for hats, coats, and umbrellas#781,890, 2/7/1905, Book supporter#968,787, 8/30/1910, Lamp fixture William A. Lavalette #208,184, 9/17/1878, Improvement in printing presses#208,208, 9/17/1878, Variation of printing press Arthur Lee #2,065,337, 12/22/1936, Self propelled toy fish Henry Lee #61,941, 2/12/1867, Improvements in animal traps Joseph Lee #524,042, 8/7/1894, Kneading machine#540,553, 6/4/1895, Bread crumbing machine Lester A. Lee #4,011,116, 3/8/1977, Carbon dioxide laser fuels Maurice William Lee #2,906,191, 9/29/1959, Aromatic pressure cooker and smoker Robert Lee #2,132,304, 10/4/1938, Safety attachment for automotive vehicles Herbert Leonard #3,119,657, 1/28/1964, Production of hydroxylamine hydrochloride#3,586,740, 6/22/1971, High impact polystyrene Frank W. Leslie #590,325 9/21/1897 Envelope seal Francis Edward LeVert #4,091,288, 5/23/1978, Threshold self-powered gamma detector for use as a monitor of power in a nuclear reactor#4,722,610, 2/2/1988, Monitor for deposition on heat transfer surfaces#4,805,454, 2/21/1989, Continuous fluid level detector#4,765,943, Thermal neutron detectors and system using the same#4,316,180, Directional detector of changes in a local electrostatic field#4,280,684, Manual automobile pusher#4,277,727, Digital room light controller#4,259,575, Directional gamma detector#4,218,043, Manual automobile pusher#4,136,282, Directional detector of gamma rays#5,711,324, Hair drying curler apparatus#5,541,464, Thermionic generator#5,443,108, Upwardly deployed privacy blind#5,299,367, Hair drying curler apparatus#5,256,878, Self powered detector based monitor for radiographic cameras#6,886,274, Spring cushioned shoe#6,865,824, Fluid flow system for spring-cushioned shoe#6,665,957, Fluid flow system for spring-cushioned shoe#6,583,617, Barkhausen noise measurement probe with magneto resistive sensor and cylindrical magnetic shield#6,442,779, Portable feet elevator#6,353,656, Radioisotope based x-ray residual stress analysis apparatus#6,282,814, Spring cushioned shoe#6,240,967, Sleeve assembly for protecting conducting wires against damage by cutting implements#7,159,338, Fluid flow system for spring-cushioned shoe Anthony L. Lewis #483,359, 9/27/1892, Window cleaner Edward R. Lewis #362,096, 5/3/1887, Spring gun James Earl Lewis #3,388,399, 6/11/1968, Antenna feed for two coordinate tracking radars Henry Linden #459,365, 9/8/1891, Piano truck Ellis Little #254,666, 3/7/1882, Bridle-bit Emanuel L. Logan Jr #3,592,497, 7/13/1971, Door bar latch Amos E. Long #610,715, 9/13/1898, Cap for bottle and jars (co-inventor Albert A Jones) Frederick J. Loudin #510,432, 12/12/1893, Fastener for the meeting rails of sashes#512,308, 1/9/1894, Key fastener John Lee Love #542,419, 7/9/1895, Plasterers hawk#594,114, 11/23/1897, Pencil sharpener Henry R. Lovell #D 87,753, 9/13/1932, Design for a doorcheck William E. Lovett #3,054,666, 9/18/1962, Motor fuel composition James E. Lu Valle #3,219,445, 11/23/1965, Photographic processes#3,219,448, 11/23/1965, Photographic medium and methods of preparing same#3,219,451, 11/23/1965, Sensitizing photographic media