Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp

Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp Built by the Nazis as both a concentration and death camp, Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazis camps and the most streamlined mass killing center ever created. It was at Auschwitz that 1.1 million people were murdered, mostly Jews. Auschwitz has become a symbol of death, the Holocaust, and the destruction of European Jewry. Dates: May 1940 - January 27, 1945 Camp Commandants: Rudolf Hà ¶ss, Arthur Liebehenschel, Richard Baer Auschwitz Established On April 27, 1940, Heinrich Himmler ordered the construction of a new camp near Oswiecim, Poland (about 37 miles or 60 km west of Krakow). The Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Auschwitz is the German spelling of Oswiecim) quickly became the largest Nazi  concentration and death camp. By the time of its liberation, Auschwitz had grown to include three large camps and 45 sub-camps. Auschwitz I (or the Main Camp) was the original camp. This camp housed prisoners, was the location of medical experiments, and the site of Block 11 (a place of severe torture) and the Black Wall (a place of execution). At the entrance of Auschwitz, I stood the infamous sign that stated Arbeit Macht Frei (work makes one free). Auschwitz I also housed the Nazi staff that ran the entire camp complex. Auschwitz II (or Birkenau) was completed in early 1942. Birkenau was built approximately 1.9 miles (3 km) away from Auschwitz I and was the real killing center of the Auschwitz death camp. It was in Birkenau where the dreaded selections were carried out on the ramp and where the sophisticated and camouflaged gas chambers laid in waiting. Birkenau, much larger than Auschwitz I, housed the most prisoners and included areas for women and Gypsies. Auschwitz III (or Buna-Monowitz) was built last as housing for the forced laborers at the Buna synthetic rubber factory in Monowitz. The 45 other sub-camps also housed prisoners that were used for forced labor. Arrival and Selection Jews, Gypsies (Roma), homosexuals, asocials, criminals, and prisoners of war were gathered, stuffed into cattle cars on trains, and sent to Auschwitz. When the trains stopped at Auschwitz II: Birkenau, the newly arrived were told to leave all their belongings on board and were then forced to disembark from the train and gather upon the railway platform, known as the ramp. Families, who had disembarked together, were quickly and brutally split up as an SS officer, usually, a Nazi doctor, ordered each individual into one of two lines. Most women, children, older men, and those that looked unfit or unhealthy were sent to the left; while most young men and others that looked strong enough to do hard labor were sent to the right. Unbeknownst to the people in the two lines, the left line meant immediate death at the gas chambers and the right meant that they would become a prisoner of the camp. (Most of the prisoners would later die from starvation, exposure, forced labor, and/or torture.) Once the selections had been concluded, a select group of Auschwitz prisoners (part of Kanada) gathered up all the belongings that had been left on the train and sorted them into huge piles, which were then stored in warehouses. These items (including clothing, eyeglasses, medicine, shoes, books, pictures, jewelry, and prayer shawls) would periodically be bundled and shipped back to Germany. Gas Chambers and Crematoria at Auschwitz The people who were sent to the left, which was the majority of those who arrived at Auschwitz, were never told that they had been chosen for death. The entire mass murder system depended on keeping this secret from its victims. If the victims had known they were headed to their death, they would most definitely have fought back. But they didnt know, so the victims latched onto the hope that the Nazis wanted them to believe. Having been told that they were going to be sent to work, the masses of victims believed it when they were told they first needed to be disinfected and have showers. The victims were ushered into an ante-room, where they were told to remove all their clothing. Completely naked, these men, women, and children were then ushered into a large room that looked like a big shower room (there were even fake shower heads on the walls). When the doors shut, a Nazi would pour Zyklon-B pellets into an opening (in the roof or through a window). The pellets  turned into poison gas once it contacted air. The gas killed quickly, but it was not instantaneous. Victims, finally realizing that this was not a shower room, clambered over each other, trying to find a pocket of breathable air. Others would claw at the doors until their fingers bled. Once everyone in the room was dead, special prisoners assigned this horrible task (Sonderkommandos) would air out the room and then remove the bodies. The bodies would be searched for gold and then placed into the crematoria. Although Auschwitz I did have a gas chamber, the majority of the mass murdering occurred in Auschwitz II: Birkenaus four main gas chambers, each of which had its own crematorium. Each of these gas chambers could murder about 6,000 people a day. Life in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Those that had been sent to the right during the selection process on the ramp went through a dehumanizing process that turned them into camp prisoners. All of their clothes and any remaining personal belongings were taken from them and their hair was shorn completely off. They were given striped prison outfits and a pair of shoes, all of which were usually the wrong size. They were then registered, had their arms tattooed with a number, and transferred to one of Auschwitzs camps for forced labor. The new arrivals were then thrown into the cruel, hard, unfair, horrific world of camp life. Within their first week at Auschwitz, most new prisoners had discovered the fate of their loved ones that had been sent to the left. Some of the new prisoners never recovered from this news. In the barracks, prisoners slept cramped together with three prisoners per wooden bunk. Toilets in the barracks consisted of a bucket, which had usually overflowed by morning. In the morning, all prisoners would be assembled outside for roll call (Appell). Standing outside for hours at roll call, whether in intense heat or below freezing temperatures, was itself a torture. After roll call, the prisoners would be marched to the place where they were to work for the day. While some prisoners worked inside factories, others worked outside doing hard labor. After hours of hard work, the prisoners would be marched back to camp for another roll call. Food was scarce and usually consisted of a bowl of soup and some bread. The limited amount of food and extremely hard labor was intentionally meant to work and starve the prisoners to death. Medical Experiments Also on the ramp, Nazi doctors would search among the new arrivals for anyone they might want to experiment upon. Their favorite choices were twins and dwarves, but also anyone who in any way looked physically unique, such as having different colored eyes, would be pulled from the line for experiments. At Auschwitz, there was a team of Nazi doctors who conducted experiments, but the two most notorious were Dr. Carl Clauberg and Dr.  Josef Mengele. Dr. Clauberg focused his attention on finding ways to sterilize women, by such unorthodox methods as X-rays and injections of various substances into their uteruses. Dr. Mengele  experimented on identical twins, hoping to find a secret to cloning what Nazis considered the perfect Aryan. Liberation When the Nazis realized that the Russians were successfully pushing their way toward Germany in late 1944, they decided to start destroying evidence of their atrocities at Auschwitz. Himmler ordered the destruction of the crematoria and the human ashes were buried in huge pits and covered with grass. Many of the warehouses were emptied, with their contents shipped back to Germany. In the middle of January 1945, the Nazis removed the last 58,000 prisoners from Auschwitz and sent them on  death marches. The Nazis planned on marching these exhausted prisoners all the way to camps closer or within Germany. On January 27, 1945, the Russians reached Auschwitz. When the Russians entered the camp, they found the 7,650 prisoners who had been left behind. The camp was liberated; these prisoners were now free.

A Short History of the Toothpick

A Short History of the Toothpick Thanks to the humble toothpick, taking care of your oral hygiene after meals has become somewhat of a ritual. With needle-like precision, it makes removing unseemly pieces of food debris, such as that stubborn sliver of shredded chicken, a thoroughly satisfying task. So who should we thank for it? DIY Origins   The toothpick is one of the few inventions being used today that predates the arrival of modern humans. Fossil evidence of ancient skulls, for instance, suggests that early Neanderthals used tools to pick their teeth. Scientists have also found tooth indentations indicative of teeth picking in human remains among Australian Aborigines, prehistoric Native Americans, and the earliest Egyptians.    The practice of teeth picking was not uncommon among early civilizations, too. Mesopotamians used instruments to keep dental crevices clear and artifacts such as toothpicks made out of silver, bronze and various other precious metals that date back to antiquity have also been unearthed. By the Medieval period, carrying a gold or silver toothpick in a fancy case became a way for privileged Europeans to distinguish themselves from commoners. The toothpick wasn’t always quite the lowly, mass-produced and disposable piece of wood that we’ve come to know today. Queen Elizabeth once received six gold toothpicks as a gift and would often showcase them. There’s even an anonymous portrait depicting her as an old woman wearing multiple chains around her neck, from which hung a gold toothpick or a case. Meanwhile, those who couldn’t afford such luxuries resorted to more creative ways of fashioning their own toothpicks. The Romans came up with a particularly clever method of pulling bird feathers, chopping off the quill and sharpening the tip. The technique was passed on to future generations in Europe and eventually carried over to the new world. Over in the Americas, native peoples carved toothpicks from deer bone. And just up north, Eskimos used walrus whiskers. Coincidentally, wood was generally considered unsuitable for the purpose of dislodging trapped food bits. Twigs from trees were inadequate because they tended to wear down when wet and had a propensity to splinter, which tended to be problematic. One exception is the mastic gum tree of southern Europe, with the Romans among the first to take advantage of the plant’s pleasant aroma and its teeth whitening properties. A Toothpick for the Masses With the ubiquity of tooth picking tools across the world, it was only a matter of time before an industry was built around them. As small businesses specializing in toothpick manufacturing began to pop up, demand for toothpicks also grew.  American entrepreneur named Charles Forster. The mass production of toothpicks can be traced to the Mondego River Valley in Portugal. It was there, in the small municipality of Coimbra, that the 16th century nuns of the Mos-teiro de Lorvo monastery began making toothpicks as a disposable utensil for picking up sticky confections that tended to leave residue on fingers and teeth. Locals eventually picked up the tradition, using only the finest orangewood and a jackknife to handcraft the toothpicks. The region would over time earn a reputation as the world capital of the toothpick industry where the finest toothpicks were made. Orders soon came in from all over Europe and shipment were sent out as far overseas as the Americas. The Portuguese were especially renowned for a special type of cocktail tooth called â€Å"palitos especiales† distinct for their carved involutes and curly shafts. In the U.S., some vendors seek to mimic the classy, festive aesthetic with toothpicks topped with colored cellophane. Toothpicks in America The American entrepreneur Charles Forster was particularly impressed by the high quality of the toothpicks in South America. While working in Brazil, he noticed that the locals often had impeccable teeth and credited it to the use of imported toothpicks from Portugal. Inspired by fellow American Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant’s shoe-making machine, Forster got to work on building something similar that would be capable of mass-producing millions of toothpicks a day. While he was ultimately able to come up with the goods, Americans simply weren’t interested. Part of the problem was that Americans were already accustomed to whittling their own toothpicks and doling out cash for something that can easily make themselves made little sense at the time. What was needed was a sea change in ingrained lifestyle habits and attitudes if there was any hope of generating demand. Forster just so happened to be crazy enough to take on such a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Some of the unusual marketing tactics he employed included hiring students to pose as store customers seeking toothpicks and instructing Harvard students to ask for them whenever they dined at restaurants. Soon enough, many local eateries would make sure toothpicks were available for patrons who somehow developed a habit of reaching for them as they’re about to leave. Though it was Forster who at the time nearly singlehandedly established a growing market for mass-produced wooden toothpicks, there were a few others jockeying to get into the game. In 1869, Alphons Krizek, of Philadelphia, received a patent for an â€Å"improvement in toothpicks,† which featured a hooked end with spoon-shaped mechanism designed to clean out hollow and sensitive teeth. Other attempted â€Å"improvements† include a case for a retractable toothpick and a scented coating meant to freshen one’s breath.  Ã‚   Towards the end of the 19th century, there were literally billions of toothpicks made each year. In 1887, the count got as high as five billion toothpicks, with Forster accounting for more than half of them. And by the end of the century, there was one factory in Maine that was already making that many.  Ã‚   Toothpicks Not Just for Picking Teeth With the commercialized ubiquity of disposable wooden toothpicks, the concept of the toothpick as status symbol, which stubbornly persisted well into 19th century, would slowly begin to fade. Silver and gold toothpicks, once immensely popular amongst society’s most well-heeled elites, were increasingly turned in as donations at fundraisers. But that doesn’t mean a toothpick’s usefulness was simply relegated to oral hygiene. Most people, for instance, are familiar with the use of toothpicks in social settings where eau doeuvres and other finger foods are served. Yet they’ve also proved capable of pinning down overstuffed deli sandwiches, cleaning dirt from underneath fingernails, and even picking locks. While the standard toothpick of today remains essentially unchanged from the ones Forster was cranking out over a century ago, entrepreneurs still seek to improve upon its very basic iteration. One early attempt by Forster and others to make them more appealing was the introduction of flavored toothpicks. Popular flavors included cinnamon, wintergreen, and sassafras. For a time, there were even liquor flavors, such as Scotch and Bourbon. Inventors have also tested other coatings such as imbuing sticks with zinc as a disinfectant. Another therapeutic approach involved combining a toothpick and a gum massager. Others have tried tinkering with the shape by making the center square as a way to prevent rolling when dropped while some newer ones claim to offer enhanced cleaning ability with the addition of brush-like bristles to the head. Though such efforts to build a better toothpick may arguably yield some advantages, theres something about the toothpick’s modest simplicity that makes it so users dont have much of a desire to deviate. A disposable, cheap object with a simple design that achieves its desired goal, you really couldn’t ask for more - as a consumer or as a manufacturer.

The Womens Question in Nineteenth Century India Research Paper

The Womens Question in Nineteenth Century India - Research Paper Example Here, the social institutions of caste and patriarchy combined leading to the oppression of women in more ways than one. On the other hand, the pressures of modernity that arose from the colonial quarters was something that led to reformers within the Indian society feeling the need for change in the way the society was structured. The burden of this modernizing impulse was then transferred onto the women of the society. This followed, again, a traditional notion of women being the bearers of the honor of a society. This move in the direction of modernization was something that can be seen to be an expose of the chinks in the Indian society and the blindnesses that it was prone to. The reformers often made the mistake of viewing upper caste Hindu society as Indian society, ignoring the members of the lower castes, the Muslims, the Sikhs, Christians and Parsis and so on and so forth. This tendency was due to the privileged position that many of these reformers came from and this cloud ed the judgement that any of them made in this regard. The writings of many women writers of this era however, posed questions to these movements and made them aware of the need for a reassessment of the problems that pre-colonial traditions posed and the ways that were being employed for the purpose of engaging with them. The complexities of the situation can be assessed from the fact that there was a great deal of differences as far as the hierarchies of caste within the different parts of the country. In Haryana, for instance, as Prem Chowdhry points out, the Jats who were primarily cultivators, held one of the most important positions. They were considered to be as important or more, as the Brahmins and the Rajputs who held higher positions than the cultivators in most other parts of India (Chowdhry 307). This had many implications for the condition of women and the colonizers’ ideas regarding what needed to be done for them. An understanding of this situation requires kn owledge of what the economic conditions of the time were in a place like Haryana. The economy was almost entirely dependent upon the agriculture of the place. As a result of this, the position of the cultivators was quite important in the larger scheme of things. Here too, there were certain changes that the role of women underwent as a result of the

Understanding the class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Understanding the class - Essay Example I prepared a few questions which I anticipated to be asked by the instructor so as to be o track during the class session. I tried as much to resist any distractions. I did this by sitting in a position of class where disruptive classmates are away from. I always put myself in the learning mood, focused on the instructor. I listened actively and took short notes in order for me to comprehend more. During the course of the semester, I shifted my position quite often for to remain alert during class time and tried not to distract myself by use of a phone or talking to my neighbor. During the class sessions, I learned that love involves feelings and emotions. It is a powerful affection of which makes one to be happy and show contentment. Knowing happiness means feeling cheerful and contentment in a manner that one feels satisfied. Love also is a form of human compassions and kindness. This explains how through it, we can feel the fullness of life. Love as a noun describes something adorable. Love as noun means that it is adoring feeling of deep affection between two people. It refers to another person as a beloved person involving desire. It can be something liked or showing affectionate concern toward others. Love as a verb is an action. This means that love expressing love towards another person or something. The action of showing love or showing affection explains love as a verb. As a verb, love can be used within the context of action whereby two people are involved in kissing or embracing each other. By attending class sessions, I understood that sexual identity is important for the development of an individual in terms of self-esteem and one’s self confidence. Sexual identity gives a person an opportunity to understand who they are and who they are sexually attracted to. Personal identity is defined by sexual identity of an individual. The two go hand in hand in that personal

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 17

Project Management - Essay Example 67). These problems require the government to take responsibility and solve them. This report is going to highlight how the government was going to reduce the benefits as jobseeker’s allowance, employment allowance, and house benefit, into one single benefit. The UK’s government wanted to improve the welfare system. They laid down policies to implement this. The government had an ambition of stopping fraud by 2023 (Pensions, 2014, p. 23). The minister said this project would minimize the errors of costs usually experienced in departments. The project was to motivate people to seek up employment activities. This will see the standards of living of many citizens rise and reduce dependency on the government. This was a good project, but analysts say the lack of openness in the project raised eyebrows. There was the lack of direction in the project and weak management. The project came up quickly, and the government wanted to implement it immediately. This could bring many shortcomings. Experts advised the government to take things slow and take time to implement the policy (Institute, 2009, p. 87). The project was overambitious. They did not consider the value of money. Under the plans, single payment mechanism was to replace working tax credit, income support, child tax credit, house benefit, and jobseeker’s allowance. The disabled had no place in this project. They cannot get basic human wants because they have no source of income. This shows how the government was selfish in this bringing up this project. This project mainly targets the unemployed. The government should consider the world’s economy is at its worst, and the level of unemployment is on the rise. The project required technology to get a go ahead. The government did use the money wrongly, because they spent money on existing computer programs rather than developing new ones. The population of the people was not one of the issues the government wanted

Biblical References in Shakespeares the Tempest

Biblical References in Shakespeares the Tempest Biblical references in Shakespeares The Tempest So much concerns, so much has been said, done, or written about William Shakespeare and his works; there are memorials, museums, theaters in his honor, full actors and actresses companies dedicated to perform only Shakespearean drama, there are even lots of â€Å"Shakespearean scholars†, biographers, etc. He had been given the title of â€Å"The Bard of Avon†, because of the old English word which means â€Å"Poet†, and also because of the Avon river which flows through his hometown, Stratford-Upon-Avon, in which he was born and baptized in April 1564. Notwithstanding, Shakespeares reputation is nowadays so huge among English poets that hes often called just The Bard; the one and the only English poet who has transcended so many generations and has served as a source of inspiration for so many writers throughout history. His life has been subjected to deep research, analysis, and infinite speculations with many different points of view. One of the fields in which one can go through (and which it will be certainly done) is Shakespeares religion and the influence this could have had into his life and works. So many scholars have dared to give their opinions and make judgments of Williams religion according to his life, his family, and by analyzing his works as well. Some of them adjudicate him as a Catholic, regarding specially his origins and Catholic backgrounds; According to Peter Ackroyd (2005) in Shakespeare the Biography, Shakespeares mother, Mary Arden, was the member of a noticeable and firmly Catholic family in Warwickshire. Other scholars and biographers say that William Shakespeare was actually a Protestant. The Shakespeare editor and historian A. L. Rowse (1963) firmly assures that Shakespeare was baptized, grew up, married, and buried into the arms of the Orthodox Church.(p.43). And finall y, the most common trend among modern scholars is that of Shakespeares atheism, based on absence towards two different conceptions; absence of direct references to any sacred book or verse; and absence of Shakespeare himself at the religious services. According to Joseph Pearce (2008), there was a man called John Payne Collier, (a notorious forger of historical documents) who examined the records of St Saviours, South wark Cathedral, and found that Shakespeare, alone among his fellow actors, was not shown as regular attendant to the church. (p.126). Thomas Carter in Shakespeare and Holy Scripture argues that no writer has assimilated the thoughts and reproduced the words of Holy Scripture more copiously than Shakespeare.(Carter, 1905, p. 3) The following paper argues the fact that William Shakespeares Biblical knowledge has had a deep and clear influence in the writing of â€Å"The Tempest†. Three main aspects are going to be considered: The references to Ariel in the books of Isaiah, Psalms, and proverbs; and the story of Joseph, the later leader of one of the Tribes of Israel, in the book of Genesis which inspired Shakespeare order to shape the plot line and development of the character Prospero, in The Tempest.For this purpose, The Tempest, The Holy Bible (in the Geneva Version), the comic The Tempest by Gaiman are going to be the resources to be cited, among others. ADD MORE INFO ROAR OF LIONS=ARIEL= Psalm 22:12-13= Proverbs 19:12, 20:2 WOE TO YOU ARIEL=Isaiah 29= LION OF GOD? Joseph Prospero The Bible tells us in Genesis 39-47 about the story of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, Hebrews living in the land of Canaan. He was the favorite son among his brothers, and they were so jealous because of that, that they plotted to kill him. However, they did not fear to kill him and decided to throw him into a pit, and then sell him to some Midianites merchants on their way to Egypt. The merchants finally sold him to the Egyptians, and once there, even though Joseph went through some distress (getting in jail for example), Gods favor was always with him. This made him able to interpret the Pharaohs dreams, and due to that, they could predict and get prepared for seven years of hunger, and Joseph won the Pharaohs trust. He finally had the possibility to meet with his brothers again, and forgive them for their betrayal. Now, in which way can these events and facts be related to the ones which Prospero had to go through? A step to step analysis is going to be developed. First of all, Joseph and Prospero parallel each other as victims of jealous siblings. Unfavored siblings in both works cannot stand the fact that the protagonists are receiving special privileges and that potentially (in the case of Joseph) or actually (in the case of Prospero) are ruling them. The narration in Genesis states, â€Å"So when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, then they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.† (37:4 Geneva Bible) They hate Joseph even more after he tells them of dreams suggesting that someday he will rule over them. â€Å"[†¦] shalt thou reign over us, and rule us? Or shalt thou have altogether dominion over us?† (37:8) In The Tempest, Prospero did not need a dream to reign over his brother Antonio; he actually was the original ruler of their home city-state, Milan. But Prospero, as well as Joseph,was somehow a dreamer too, more interested in books rather than in the affairs of the government, giving Antonio the opportunity to plot with Alonso, King of Naples, and overthrow Prospero usurping the dukedom for himself. (Shakespeare, 1611. Act 1, sc, 2, 66- 132). Since Prospero was popular with the common people, they did not dare to kill him. Instead, they put him and his daughter Miranda in a boat, and leaving them adrift in the sea, leaving their fate to the mercy of the elements: In few, they hurried us aboard a barque, Bore us some leagues to sea, where they prepared A rotten carcass of a butt, not rigged, Nor tackle, sail, nor mast—the very rats Instinctively have quit it. There they hoist us, To cry to th sea that roared to us, to sigh To th winds, whose pity, sighing back again, Did us but loving wrong. (Act I, sc 2, 144-151) These harsh conditions can be clearly compared to the ones in Genesis, as something very similar happens to Joseph; when the opportunity is given, his brothers â€Å"conspired against him for to slay him.† (37:18) but then they decided to â€Å"Shed not blood† (37: 22) and throw him into a pit without any food or water for then selling him to Midianite merchants, leaving his fate to the mercy them (37:23-28). Later on then, in both works, Joseph and Prospero use their ingeniousness to success in an foreign and unknown land. Actually, they both become rulers of their new land, by using their wisdom and abilities combined with supernatural forces (magic, Gods favor) to gain power. On one hand, Joseph is sold again, this time in Egypt, where he is imprisoned on false charges. But â€Å"the LORD was with him; for whatsoever he did, the LORD made it to prosper.† (39:23) Joseph was given the ability to interpret dreams, and this talent calls the Pharaohs attention; Joseph interprets Pharaohs dreams which no other wizard or soothsayer could, foretelling seven years of plentiful harvests followed by seven years of hunger, and suggesting a plan for crop rationing in order to save food for the famine times. This impresses the Pharaoh so much, that he gives Joseph domain over the whole land of Egypt (41: 41). On the other hand, Prospero comes ashore on a unknown island, in his own words, â€Å"By Providence divine† (Act. I, sc 2, 159) and there, he uses the magic he has learned from books to overthrow the witch who had ruled and become ruler himself—although the island is so desolate that as Caliban points out to him, â€Å"I am all the subjects that you have† (1.2.344). Joseph and Prospero eventually achieve positions of power over their former betrayers. Both can choose from a variety of actions: seek revenge, test for signs of repentance, or offer forgiveness. Both men eventually choose all three, in the aforementioned order. -By the time Joseph and Prospero confront their former betrayers, years after the betrayal, the onetime conspirators are helpless, having been humbled and unknowingly brought to the protagonist by what appear to be forces of nature but are actually supernatural forces. In Genesis, when the famine comes—reflecting Gods will, given that Joseph, the man favored by God, could predict it—Israel and his sons are starving, while Joseph and the Egyp- tians have plenty. Thus, Josephs brothers—all except Benjamin, the youngest and the new favorite of the father—must go to Egypt and beg to buy corn from Joseph. Although they do not recognize him, he recognizes them, and he real- izes, as they bow helplessly before him, that his earlier dreams of ruling over them have been fulfilled (41.50-42.9). Prospero, in turn, after twelve years on the island creates his own â€Å"supernatural nature†: when a ship carrying his former enemies passes near, Prospero conjures up the tempest that gives the play its name, and his enemies are washed ashore after a shipwreck, with Alonso disconsolate because he thinks his son Ferdinand has drowned in the storm. Although they cannot see Prospero unless he chooses, he can see them when he chooses (3.3.17-93), and he realizes, as they struggle helplessly before his magic, that his longtime dreams of repaying his enemies can now be fulfilled. Initially, Joseph and Prospero make their former betrayers squirm and regret their past cruelty, even associating that cruelty with the possible death of a beloved child. Although Joseph provides his siblings with the corn they seek, he employs subordinates to confuse and torment them by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting they are thieves (42.24-28). He also briefly imprisons them on false charges, thus making them undergo what he suffered after their transgressions in the past. He leaves one brother imprisoned, so that their father thinks he may be dead (42.36), and pressures the others to produce Benjamin, the youngest brother, moving the remaining brothers to say to each other, â€Å"No doubt we deserve to be punished because of our brother [Joseph], whose suffering we saw; for when he pleaded with us we refused to listen† 226(42.9-21). In The Tempest, Prospero employs spirits to confuse and torment his former betrayers, and has his supernatural servant Ariel remind them of their past transgressions until Alonso laments that the thunder proclaimed his transgressions against Prospero, transgressions for which he believes he has been punished by his sons death (3.3.97-100). But Joseph and Prospero do not simply torment their former betrayers into repentance; they also test them by virtually replicating the circumstances of the original betrayal, in effect giving the betrayers a second chance. Joseph manipulates the brothers into agreeing that if one of them can be proven to have stolen from Joseph, he should become Josephs slave; he then uses planted evidence to frame Benjamin. Thus, the brothers face essentially the same question they faced years earlier when they sold Joseph: Will they be party to the enslavement of their younger brother, their fathers favorite, despite his innocence? They redeem themselves by pleading Benjamins case, one even offering to take Benjamins place as slave (44.1-34). While The Tempest resembles the Joseph account in replicating the circumstances of the initial betrayal, the guilty brothers response is much different—a contrast contributing to the unstable nature of the ending to Shakespeares play. Prospero causes Alonso and his guards to fall asleep, while Antonio and Alonsos brother Sebastian remain awake, unaware that Prospero is alive and following their actions. Thus, the earlier situation is replicated: An oblivious ruler could be supplanted by a conspiracy between that rulers brother and the ruler of another Italian city-state. But far from redeeming himself, Antonio suggests to Sebastian that the two of them should kill the sleeping Alonso, thus allowing Sebastian to usurp his brothers kingdom (2.1.205-98); they even explicitly compare this with Antonios earlier overthrow of Prospero as they prepare to carry out the murder (2.1.271-76, 292-94). Prospero must employ Ariel to save Alonsos life (2.1.299-307). Unlike Josephs brothers, Prosperos brother Antonio remains a dangerous man, one to be watched closely. Despite Antonios unrepentant nature, in both works the protagonists eventually forgive their brothers—although they do so from a position of absolute power. His torments and tests of his brothers complete, Joseph finally reveals his identity to them (45.1-4). And although his brothers fear further reprisals and beg forgiveness (50.15-18), Joseph magnanimously tells them, â€Å"Do not be distressed or take it amiss that you sold me into slavery here . . .† (45.5)—a statement made easier by his brothers groveling before him in his role as virtual ruler. Similarly, Prospero eventually decides to act â€Å"in virtue [rather] than in vengeance† (5.1.28) and reveals himself to Antonio and Alonso. He also tells his brother, â€Å"I do forgive thy rankest fault†Ã¢â‚¬â€although he forgives only on the condition that he be restored to his former, and rightful, position as Duke of Milan (5.1.131-34).227Last, in their entire experience with betrayal, exile, redemption, and reconciliation, Joseph and Prospero are instruments of a divine plan to save not only the current generation but also its descendants. Moreover, through forgiving those who betrayed them, Joseph and Prospero not only unite families but also unite states that had been historically unfriendly to each other. Joseph invites all his brothers and their father, Israel—effectively inviting â€Å"the twelve tribes of Israel†Ã¢â‚¬â€to live with him in Egypt, and they accept (45.9-13, 46.1-7). Joseph explains to his brothers that the reason they should not feel guilty about having sold him into slavery is that if they had not done so, many people would have starved and the â€Å"tribes of Israel† would have been wiped out: â€Å"[I]t was God who sent me ahead of you to save mens lives. . . . [and] to ensure that you will have descendants on earth, and to preserve you all, a great band of survivors† (45.5-7). In addition, Joseph has by now married and had sons by the daughter of an Egyptian priest, giving Jews and Egyptians a shared set of descendants (41.45, 50-52). Thus, Josephs early misfortunes were part of a divine plan for the future state of Israel. In The Tempest, Prospero has arranged that his daughter (the rightful Duchess of Milan) and Alonsos son (the heir to the throne of Naples) should fall in love with each other, and as the play ends, the lovers imminent marriage promises to unite the formerly hostile Italian city-states and give them a shared set of descendants. This conclusion supports Prosperos earlier observation that although he and Miranda were exiled from Milan through foul play, they were â€Å"blessedly† helped onto the island (1.2.62-63). And Gonzalo, a courtier and an old friend of Prosperos, states on learning of the upcoming marriage of Prosperos daughter to Alonsos son that it is the gods that â€Å"have chalked forth the way / Which brought us hither† and that Prospero was â€Å"thrust from Milan, that his issue / Should become kings of Naples† (5.1.2058). Although Shakespeare perhaps had to refer to â€Å"the gods† rather than â€Å"God† because of a 1606 law banning r eferences to â€Å"God† onstage (Bevington 1204), the play suggests that Prosperos earlier misfortunes were part of a larger divine plan for â€Å"descendants on earth.† In Genesis, however, Gods divine plan for Josephs descendants has a darker side. Many years earlier, God had told Josephs great-grandfather Abraham, â€Å"[Y]our descendants will be aliens living in a land that is not theirs; they will be slaves, and will be held in oppression there for four hundred years† (15:13). Years after Josephs people were reunited in Egypt, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews, treating them â€Å"with ruthless severity† and subjecting them to â€Å"every kind of hard labor† (Exod. 1.13-14). It is here that a typological reading destabilizes the optimistic ending of The Tempest. While Shakespeares play seems to end with a vision of perfect order and reconciliation, the forces of disorder remain intact and largely unrepentant. For Prospero and his people, as for Joseph and his, the â€Å"reconciliation to a 228richer and fuller life† may be only temporary (Traversi 269-70). Shakespeare may have at least subconsciously created a level of religious allegory that undermines the â€Å"brave new world† (5.1.185) and subtly questions the wisdom of Prosperos decision to act in â€Å"virtue [rather] than in vengeance† (5.1.28).

Effect of marajuana on college campus :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana can be found on every college campus in the United States and is the drug of choice coming in right behind alcohol. Harvard School of public health conducted a survey over the last eleven years and found that marijuana use in college has gone from 26.4 % in 1989-1991 to 33.6% in 2000 (http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs/prev-updates/marijuana.html). According to a similar study, the majority of students on college campuses that use marijuana will also participate in other high risk activities. This destructive behavior includes things such as cigarette smoking, binge drinking and sex while intoxicated. Marijuana is so easy to obtain and can be very tempting to experiment with, especially if you have already had a few drinks and your thinking is impaired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana prices have a major effect on the amount of use by college students at any given point in time. Although it may be more socially available on college campuses, the price still determines the usage. The fact that marijuana is illegal in the United States helps to keep the price at a seemingly higher level. This artificial price illusion regulates the buying, selling and usage among college students. Compared to alcohol, marijuana is much more accessible, especially on college campuses. Getting alcohol requires an ID or someone with an ID. Getting marijuana only requires someone that supplies the drug. So even though it is illegal, marijuana is seemingly more common.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since possession of marijuana is illegal, it is not surprising that the consequences can be so debilitating. While attending college with federal financial aid, you run the risk of jeopardizing your federal aid by being charged with a misdemeanor. Possession of marijuana is considered a misdemeanor and if you are charged, the federal government has the right to take away any government aid that you were granted. So not only do you have a record for possession, but more than likely you are going through the judicial system of the college or university and may be suspended or expelled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana use can also lead to academic problems. Students that participate in these behaviors have a tendency to spend more time socializing than concentrating on what they should be, their academics. These students spend more time partying than studying which greatly affects their academic performance. Two of the physical effects of marijuana that directly affect academics are difficulty in problem solving and poor memory. Students may become less and less motivated to be involved in campus activities, and also may become decreasingly concerned with their long-term goals and career plans.