Message to Garcia Essay Example for Free

Message to Garcia Essay In the short writing, Message to Garcia, the author Elbert Hubbard writes of a man named Rowen, who is tasked with delivering a letter to the leader of the Cuban resistance forces, General Garcia. But the story is not about his trials, or his mishaps. Its not about his journey nor his thoughts about the situation at all. The story actually mentions Rowan only a few times throughout. The author instead focuses on the qualities of Rowan, not on what he says, but, rather on what he didnt. The narrator of the story, who is never actually named but whom can be assumed to be in close conjunction with those who were tasked with reaching Garcia, speaking of Rowans undeniable loyalty to the cause. The situation was seemingly impossible. Trying to reach Garcia who was actively trying to stay hid to deliver a message asking for his cooperation. With no questions asked Rowan sats out on his three week journey to deliver the message. The connection between Rowans silence on the details of the mission, and his loyalty to the task and the ones giving it to him are explained further in the story. In fact later on, it becomes less of a story and more of a guidance manual to the readers. It explains that how many times nowadays, or perhaps most times, success is gained through back ended means. People in general sense do not possess the mindset to focus on a task, nor have the willingness to gain that mindset. When told to accomplish a task, they wither go do it halfheartedly is at all, or simply shift it to the side, or the gutter as the author put it. The main connection that the author made was that Rowan did not ask where General Garcia was. Not because he already knew, but that he knew enough about the situation that he had already made the determination that he was tasked with the mission because nobody else knew either. To put it simple, it did not matter whether he asked or not. His success of the mission relied purely on his skills and accomplishing the task. Asking questions like who  and how ere of little consequence. He had to do it and he would do it. As I said before, the author was not concerned with the journey, but his willingness and loyalty to mission accomplishment to begin the impossible journey at all. The author also goes into details about another man, to describe the polar opposite of Rowan. He describes the man as impervious to reason, unable to take orders, nor give them. Basically describing a large portion of todays society. The people with a society of people such as that is that progress is halted, not because the means arent there, but that there is not initiative to find the means and put them into effect to get things done. To a logical thinking person, the conclusion is this, that Rowans qualities of dedication to the mission, and his comrades that would more the likely be benefited by his actions, even if he could not immediately see it, are qualities that we should all strive to possess. To better ourselves and those around us is a mission in itself, one that we should all be loyal too, not just for us, but for everyone, For is everyone shared this sentiment, perhaps the need to send a letter to General Garcia would not have existed at all. The need for us to observe situations, or missions, if you will, from a third person point of view, rather than looking just at how they will benefit us, or take us out of our comfort zones, becomes more necessary as we receive more responsibility to get the mission accomplished.

The Vicious Cycle :: Sociology Sociological Essays

The Vicious Cycle â€Å"Cuanto Cuesta?† asked Dr. Catherwood as he slowly paged through the June 1, 1998 Ocixeman newspaper. â€Å"Tres pesos, Senor,† replied the smiling clerk, gold teeth sparkling in the bright sun. Dr. Catherwood casually tossed a five peso coin on the counter of the small newsstand and remarked, â€Å"Keep the change amigo.† This drew another large grin from the clerk. Dr. Catherwood strolled away, contemplating his upcoming expedition. He had just arrived in Ocixem earlier by plane. Dr. Catherwood was on sabbatical from his position as an anthropology professor from Harvard University in Acirema. He had a meeting at a local cafe in an hour with Dr. Ortiz, his Ocixeman colleague from the Mayan Institute. Just the other day, Dr. Ortiz had telephoned him in his office claiming he had made an incredible discovery. After the second Scientific Revolution, people didn’t keep scientific secrets from the world, so he was quite intrigued. It was considered high treason to keep a discovery from the World Government as a part of their anti-terrorist policy. Wondering why he would take such a risk in guarding his discovery, Dr. Catherwood promised to join his friend immediately in Ocixem. Dr. Catherwood was early, so he took a seat in the outdoor cafe and ordered a cold lemonade. The humid jungle air condensed on his glass as the beads of sweat did on his head. He suddenly appreciated the fact that he was from the colder climate of Acirema. Little did he know that Dr. Ortiz’s discovery would have wide ranging applications to his thoughts. Doctor Ortiz suddenly appeared, rushing over to sit across from Dr. Catherwood. â€Å"Sorry to keep you waiting,† he exclaimed, â€Å"but I was finalizing our travel preparations.† â€Å"Travel preparations?† asked Dr. Catherwood. Dr. Ortiz explained that for the past two years, he had been working amongst the ruins of the ancient Mayan civilization and had begun to decipher many of their hieroglyphics. He was focusing on how such a large and successful society could nearly vanish from the face of the earth. Some scientists theorized that the Mayans were assimilated into other cultures and disappeared that way. Although descendants of the Mayans can be recognized in present day Ocixem by their short stature, hawk noses, and flat foreheads, Dr.

Ray Bradbury Research Paper Essay

Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on August 22, 1920. He is the son of Leonard Spaulding Bradbury and Esther Marie Moberg Bradbury. Ray attended Los Angeles High School. He was active in the drama club and planned to be an actor. Bradbury’s formal education ended with his high school graduation in 1938. However, he continued to educate himself by spending his nights in the library. One of Bradbury’s best-known works, Fahrenheit 451, was released in 1953. It is set in the future in which a totalitarian government has banned the written word. Today, Ray and Maggie Bradbury continue to live in Los Angeles. Ray Bradbury still writes daily and occasionally lectures. At an age when most men rest on their laurels, Bradbury remains a dynamic storyteller and contributor of â€Å"obvious answers to impossible futures.†(Jepsen and Johnson 4) Ray Bradbury’s writing style has always been known to be poetic without being pretentious; it communicates abstract ideas with layman terms and engages our senses. (Ray Bradbury Board) I enjoy Bradbury’s use of irony in stories, but especially in A Sound of Thunder when the killing of a butterfly changes all of civilization. The short story is about this wealthy man named Eckles who pays this time traveling company to take him back to prehistoric times, so he can hunt for a dinosaur. These dinosaurs have been selected because a previous survey indicated that they would die very soon anyway. Although this supposedly gets around the ripple effect, it quite obviously does not—a flaw in logic that Bradbury himself undoubtedly recognized. â€Å"A Sound of Thunder† is about a wealthy man who has purchased a spot in a hunting trip named Eckles. The time traveling company doesn’t want diseases brought to the past, so they will wear environmental suits and they will also be required to walk on an elevated platform. Bradbury provides an excellent description of the ripple effect, showing how one minor change can multiply over thousands of generations until it has the potential to change the world beyond recognition. Only marked dinosaurs are allowed to be killed. Surveys are conducted to see which dinosaurs should be marked and would die naturally anyway. Then, Eckles panics from seeing a tyrannosaurus appear, thus falling off the platform. The creature is dead, but the guide is still angry because Eckles could have changed the future. Before they traveled back in time, a heated election ends with a would-be dictator losing, but upon returning, there are few changes in the room, which the group notices as differences for reasons that Bradbury never explains. The most profound difference is that the election outcome is different. The alteration of history occurred because, when Eckles left the path, he inadvertently stepped on and killed a butterfly. (Don D’Ammassa 1) When reading A Sound of Thunder, I noticed parts when Bradbury used foreshadowing. One example of foreshadowing in Bradbury’s short story is Lesperance’s explanation to Eckles on the dangers of small changes in the past having catastrophic effects on the future foreshadow the changes that occur. The constant warnings to stay off the path indicate that Eckles will leave the path. Another archetype of foreshadowing is when Eckles says, â€Å"Does this safari guarantee I come back alive?† They reply, â€Å"We guarantee nothing!† This in my opinion gives me the idea that the safari must be quite dangerous and anyone doing such an activity needs a plethora of courage. There are many examples of foreshadowing in A Sound of Thunder. Ray Bradbury remains a dynamic storyteller and contributor of â€Å"obvious answers to impossible futures.†(Jepsen and Johnson 4) He writes stories in compelling ways that involve very complex ideas and he makes it simple to understand while still being in an intelligent way. One particular quote Bradbury has stated that I enjoy is, â€Å"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together.†(Ray Bradbury Quote 1) Bradbury’s use of irony is probably one of his most famous writing traits; along with his way of being poetic, without being pretentious. In conclusion, Ray Bradbury will go down in history as one of the most famed science fiction writers of all time; even though, he never considered himself a science fiction writer. How ironic? Sources Page D’Ammassa, Don â€Å"A Sound of Thunder Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Facts on File, Inc., 2005 Chris Jepsen, and Richard Johnson. Facts about Ray Bradbury: www.spaceagecity.com/bradbury/bio.htm Ray Bradbury: Xplore Inc, 2012. http://www.brainyquote.com/quote/authors/r/ray_bradbury.html Ray Brabury Message Board: http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum1 /HTML/000463.html Bleiler, Richard Science Fiction Writers: 2nd ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons Mittnacht, Veronica 10 Things you didn’t know about Ray Bradbury: http://flavorwire.come/106189/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-ray-bradbury

Time An Abstract Idea, But Invented Solely By Man

Matthew Kennedy English 11 Honors 12/7/16 3rd Hour Time: an abstract idea, but invented solely by man. Even though it is a product of our own creation, we either have too much of it on our hands, or are rapidly running out of it. It wasn’t until the Market Revolutions of the early 19th century that clocks were readily used, so what did people rely on before? Surely there must be some better solution than the 5-day 9am-5pm monotony that has existed for close to two centuries? However, through my personal experiences and the anecdotes of others, I have concluded that this current schedule is both optimal for human productivity, and it would be impossible to function outside of it. Personally, the main reason I decided to conduct this experiment was to break the tedious schedule that has existed ever since my birth. As a child, I was particularly interested in reading about history, mostly about Medieval times. My horizons eventually broadened to the Renaissance period, and I became enthralled with an individual named Leonardo da Vinci. My interests grew as I started playing the Assassin’s Creed video game series (based around Renaissance Italy). Da Vinci embodied everything that I sought out to be: intellectual, compassionate, driven, and just a little bit cocky (well-deserving). But what made this man so spectacular? Several years ago, I was reading journals about Da Vinci’s personal life, and I discovered he practiced something called polyphasic sleep. However, It wasn’tShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Management As A Science791 Words   |  4 Pagesof management at inception relies solely on the initiative of the work man which was hard to be achieved. At the birth of scientific management, the workman initiative which was hard to achieve and come by was possible through goal congruence and further implementation of new ideas by the manager by adding new duties. 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