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“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” (Hamilton). You and I, we both cry, we both bleed, and we will both die. One critical lens that sparked my interest the most while reading William Shakepeare’s Hamlet was the postcolonial lens, especially because of the play’s parallelization with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. This lens is relevant to Hamlet because it highlights the abuse of political power, injustice, and conspiracy; as a result, these factors fuel Hamlet’s desire for vengeance without regard for justice to kill Claudius. In comparison, Hamilton is a commentary on America’s past through the prism of America’s present that uses a cast of African-American and Latinos to retell its own story of history.

Therefore, by using Hamilton as a catalyst to explain Hamlet through a postcolonial lens, it allows myself to understand how Hamlet’s desires are influenced by his “slave like” oppression by a higher power. In other words, I see Hamlet’s speech, actions, and words as an attempt to avenge his father’s death as a result of the ethical dilemma that takes place in his head. In “Can We Talk about Race in Hamlet?,” author Peter Erickson tackles the idea of race in Hamlet and argues that “the greater ability accorded to race in Jacobean culture does not mean that race was completely absent under Elizabeth… so in keeping with its Elizabethan milieu, touches only obliquely and its racial discourse thus remains latent, implicit”. However, I argue that there is a way to prominently entwine Hamlet with race and discovered a rendition of Hamlet that features an all-black cast similar to as seen in Hamilton, and thus my own perspective on Hamlet was shed a new light. Peter Erickson poses two questions. “How do we define race for the purposes of this inquiry? Is there a historically valid concept of race that can be applied to Hamlet?”. Erickson uses the essays by P.E.H. Hair and Robin Law and by David Richardson from Oxford History of the British Empire and uses their ideas and approaches in his essay on Hamlet, including the British involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. The two ethnic references that Erickson fixates on in his postcolonial analysis is Hamlet’s parenthetical phrase “if the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me”and when Hamlet compares his real father with Claudius, “Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, / And batten on this moor?”.

In addition, both quotes carry racial connotations; Hamlet's minor mention to Turk and Moor is symbolic to whiteness. In “Can We Talk about Race in Hamlet?” Erickson argues “the association of whiteness and vulnerability is one of the underlying motifs Hamlet dramatizes”. Whiteness is accessible as an ideal lost that is unrecoverable. This same ideal is what Claudius actively participates in. “At the core of the first act’s climax is a horrifying disfigurement of white identity that makes loss of stature a matter of skin condition”. In contrast, the notion of white identity is further catapulted by Hamlet’s assumption of his father’s murderer as black: The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms, Black as his purpose, did the night resemble, When he lay couched in the ominous horse, Hath now this dread and black complexion smeared With heraldry more dismal. In addition, the racial insinuation of Claudius as a Moor follows the white and black ambiance. I feel that this feeds the fear that the idea of white identity could only progress by “its racial opposite”. The presence of Claudius’ blackened counterpoint to his father’s violated whiteness, allows Claudius’s confession to come to fruition where he can’t wash his “bosom black as death” with his hand “white as snow”. Another parallel that is present later on in the play is when Hamlet gets a confession from his mother: “Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct”. The use of “tinct” shows flat out racism where it is impossible to wash the “blackness” of a person so that they become white. I agree with Peter Erickson’s stance on the inherent, indirect racism in Hamlet. This got me wondering, what are ways that Hamlet can overcome these postcolonial struggles of race and power? I then came upon an all-black rendition of the play that highlights Hamlet’s inability to act and pursue vengeance for his father’s murder. The recent Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet (directed by Simon Godwin), features black actors. The play is set in an unidentified former British colony, but might as well represent Africa, including its colonies that were under British control due to the Atlantic slave trade. However, I believe that the production doesn’t just represent the nation of postcolonial Africa, but the whole world as well. Hamlet played by Paapa Essiedu adds a different flavor to the world renowned play that makes it interesting. Essiedu as Hamlet achieves the idea of a self-sacrificing religious inspiration which aims to avenge his father's death with the use of African drums, dance, and costumes. Hamlet’s clear intention to kill Claudius and to avoid death on the way allows through African art, allows communication and insults towards Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius through “art.” The use of the spray-painting graffiti portrait of Claudius and Gertrude is another aspect that adds flavor and something different. The spray-painting is different than the typical oil paintings of that time and challenges the social norms back then with a modern day take. Hamlet’s art is his true nature and this rendition of the play perfectly encapsulates that. Hamilton is the perfect postcolonial parallelization for a postcolonial world Hamlet. Hamilton drew criticism from people for the specific need for “non-white” actors. But what makes Hamilton work so well is the fact that it’s a story about America’s past through the story of America’s present. It works because the historically white, male founding fathers who were slave owners are played by a predominantly non-white cast of blacks and Latinos.

In the times of American slavery, Hamilton has a way of using African Americans as a symbol for justice with injustice which isn't an instance of invert bigotry. Hamilton has created a space on Broadway for black and brown performers that otherwise wouldn’t exist and allows people to understand the rich history of America through the lens of other cultures. It’s amazing that Hamilton figured out a way to reach the hearts of a number of individuals across different cultures and backgrounds. There is inherent racism in Hamlet. Reading Hamlet through a postcolonial lens helps me notice that, although Hamlet takes place before colonial times, Shakespeare’s use of Hamlet’s character highlights racism ahead of its time. This lens is useful when understanding that the end product/ending isn’t directly influenced by the intent of the characters. Those who tell our stories are the ones that live on. Eliza like Horatio lives on to tell their stories after the protagonists’ death.

The sample for this advertisement analysis is the ad 'Your Man could smell like' by Old Spice. For many years Old Spice has been a top product in the body wash for men. Old Spice is most known for its persuasive message techniques to grab an audience. They use this in a way to where they can not only convince men into buying their products but for a woman to buy them for a significant other. Since its 2019 and we live in a more modern time where commercials have been shaped to almost entertain us while promoting the product. 

As you watch the ad you know within seconds who the ad is geared towards as stated by Mustafa referencing “hello ladies” to open the advertisement. That common statement “hello ladies” immediately grabs the attention of a woman so we know who this advertisement is mainly geared towards. With Mustafa giving a flirtatious smirk and twinkling eyes and a raise of his eyebrows, you could start to see the “manly” image represented in the opening of the advertisement. 

When analyzing the advertisement, we see some humor and sarcasm to reach out to the audience it’s trying to grab. It appeals to the audience by trying to convince the user that if you buy this product you will “transform” into this “man” by using this product. We can already assume that the ad already thinks we, women, are disappointed in our men for not reflecting the same type of manly look as the presenter in the advertisement. 

Also, the advertiser assumes that your man is using “lady scented body wash” so this gives a claim that your man isn’t manly enough and doesn’t compare to Mustafa. By showing that they used actor Isaiah Mustafa, in the beginning, he shows humor right off by giving the audience some interaction with the ad. He gives them interaction by having them act according to what he says “look at your man. Now back at me”. This also plays a part in the engagement that the advertiser is trying to get. 

Next we will analyze the role of humor throughout the advertisement. By keeping random events happening throughout the ad keeps the audience engaged and entertained while watching. For instance, almost at the end of the ad, the man states “Anything is possible when your man smells like a man and not a lady. I’m on a horse” this is a way to entertain the audience with humor to the situation. Mustafa creates an image to the female audience that 'your man' could smell like a man but not physically become a man, just like how Mustafa is the man that not only has tickets to your favorite 'thing', also even diamonds to impress a lady. By using those scenes in the commercial it creates irony to show exaggeration of what old spice 'could do' for your man. Old spice really can't make your man flip oysters into tickets and tickets into pearls, the product just makes your man smell good. But by using the irony old spice smell good just like diamonds and tickets. 

The next point of this ad analysis is tone. The tone that the actor uses sounds very confident as if the old spice gives it to him to give him a “man” quality. The tone of voice that Mustafa uses throughout the advertisement adds to humor. Also, the ridiculous scenes and crazy pictures are shown because Mustafa is going through dramatic backgrounds but still kept an unfazed straight face while delivering his message to the audience. this adds humor and also makes the add more appealing to the viewer. Also, it reinforces Mustafa's message that if you purchase and use old spice you will get what you desire. 

The main goal that the Old Spice advertisement is trying to achieve is to still have males buy the product for themselves and they still have the main female audience to buy the product for her significant other. A way to achieve high sales is to attract bigger audiences to your product. With the public accepting this product, approval, and enjoyment of the product, after a few short months, the advertisement on YouTube gained 19 million views. A report made by Carl Nielson shows that previous old spice sales have risen over 55% in 3 months. Since the release of the 'your Man could smell like' video has gained 49 million views with over 40,000 comments and 3,000 dislikes. However, the results from the advertisement made a big impact on the company with skyrocketing sales and popularity of the product. Old Spice no longer smells like a man, it smells like victory. Body wash isn't essentially one thing that's exciting enough to grab the viewer’s attention, Usually, men aren't too excited and may not be too into the proper care or products for himself. Although incorporating women into this advertisement may catch her eye since women are more into self-hygiene and may want to buy the product for her man to try. 

As seen from this advertisement analysis essay, with Old Spice trying to affiliate women with their products brings in a man and women audience, therefore bringing in more sales. Old Spice uses the image 'manly' to give the watcher a view of what Old Spice assumes is manly. It also sparks humor too to provoke humor. With the advertisement launching around the same time as the Superbowl, also a time period of men’s body wash booming in the market. Old Spice took the massive fan base and created an advertisement both seeking out to women and men to bring in more sales. The general message to this ad is pretty straightforward if you do not want your man to smell like a lady buy him Old Spice.

Cities like Delhi and Mumbai are positioned among the globes top 10 cities with the most increased rates of cannabis (marijuana or weed) consumption every year , according to a study by Seedo, an Israel-based firm that sells such technology which help people grow marijuana plant at home. In order to develop a basic understanding of the topic question ‘Should Marijuana be legalized? It is important to clarify the meaning of its keywords. The National Institute of Drug Abuse states that marijuana — also called weed, herb etc. “is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis sativa”. “Mostly people smoke cannabis in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints”. Cannabinoids is the term given to the approximately 100 different chemicals found in the marijuana plant, with each chemical having its own specific effect. The main chemicals are “Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) which are used in the medicine”. The 'high' that people strive for when ingesting marijuana comes from one of these chemicals, THC. Marijuana is used for recreational/medical purposes and is banned in many places globally for various reasons. The word ‘legalization’ holds great importance in this topic question because if marijuana is considered unlawful, its consumption would be a crime, whatever the reason may be or how much benefit it does.

The legalization of marijuana has been an issue of debate from the contemporary societies for a long time now. Many countries such as Germany and Australia have already legalized medical marijuana and now are in favor to validate the use of recreational marijuana. But in several places medical marijuana is legalized. The Spanish Medical Agency (AEMPS) is held responsible for authorizing cannabis products, but only for clients in countries where it is prescribed. Canada, Colombia and Uruguay.

Having understood that why marijuana should be legalized is a topic for debate in several countries worldwide, I derive two contrasting perspectives regarding whether or not marijuana should be legalized. My Initial view is that weed should be legal as it is used for medical purposes and for anxiety issues or to ease off stress and frustration. As part of this essay I will first present arguments in favor of legalizing marijuana which will look at aspects of legalizing cannabis, which has the potential to help treat different kinds of diseases such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. Opposing this view I will analyze and evaluate arguments that state marijuana should not be legalized.

Let us first look into the perspective which Dr. John Collins, executive director of the international drugs policy unit at London School of Economics and political science opposed, he first points out the eight and more states and Washington DC who are supporting the legalization of recreational cannabis but the juries is still out of legalization on the community and one individual health, which indicates that the author is not at biased and is shedding light upon the both side of the debate. To add depth to his argument he explained, UK doctors have been allowed to prescribe cannabis products applied to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which makes whole of the United Kingdom, the medicines which contain cannabis are impactful to people who are suffering from diseases such as epilepsy which is one of many. A study in this article narrated that there were two young children who suffered from epilepsy and helped them control their seizures. Both of the children parents were convinced by the results and further they quoted in the article that marijuana should be legal so it can help tens of thousands of people who are in urgent need of help. Firstly the source is credible enough to rely on because the writer contains all those qualities which a writer would be acquiring according to the topic of the question. Secondly the author had a clear understanding about what he was talking about and was easy to follow which means it was structured properly. This means that the author isn’t unaware of the problem since he knows the both side of the argument. But Dr. John Collins wasn’t able to stick to one perspective of his tangent, he kept on discussing all the other possible effects due to which he wasn’t able to add some of the statistical information which would’ve increased the validity of the findings in this article.

On the same argument another source which supported Dr. John Collins article in more detail was what importance medical cannabis has and how it is proved effective which John wasn’t able to do so. Medical cannabis has, through a number of studies, proved to be an effective treatment for anorexia, weight loss, severe nausea and other HIV/AIDS related symptoms. Using statistics one particular study published in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management showed that through the use of medical cannabis 94% of participants had less muscle pain, 97% claimed to have an improved appetite and 93% of the participants found relief from nausea and anxiety. All of these figures represent how reliable and credible this source can be since this is an internationally peer-reviewed journal by providing the best clinical research related to relied and illness burdens, moreover it clear cut points out that how HIVS/AIDS were treated through cannabis which turned out to be effective and reliable and not only does cannabis reduce HIVS/AIDS but also other mental illness such as depression, anxiety, memory loss and many more but due to the word limit it is difficult to be comprehensive and explain each and every sub issue related to the argument.

In support of these articles above there are several countries like India who are also planning to legalize marijuana since their nation also deprive some medical benefits from it and is a great healer, it helps treat a number of medical conditions like epilepsy, insomnia, HIV/AIDS and cancer treatment. In fact HIV/AIDS patients have find some relief through cannabis treatment.

Another study which was conducted in Pakistan showed some similar results. Research suggested that cannabidiol has therapeutic prospective it showed reductions in anxiety and improvement in the bipolar disorder and many other mental conditions. Some other studies have also indicted that cannabidiol may be a treatment for the disease epilepsy specifically. “Patients who consumed 20 mg daily experienced a reduction in seizures about 42%”.

First moving onto to the second perspective of the argument, we need to know that marijuana for medical purposes aren’t always beneficial. A newspaper which made a headline of first ever baby who dies because of marijuana overdose, who was 11 month years of age. According to Nappe, the report had outlined an unusual way of events and wrote that physicians believed it was a compulsion to study the possible relationship between the child’s death (due to myocarditis which is inflammation of the heart muscle) and cannabis.

Now coming onto the second argument from which we perceive several reasons as to why marijuana should be illegitimate, marijuana consumption effects individual or personal side of the debate. First let us look upon the individual side of the debate first.

More than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the country in 2017, over 47,000 involved the use of opioids. We know that no one has ever died directly from a marijuana overdose. Due to this huge number of deaths that took place by marijuana overdose clearly identifies how perilous this drug can be but there are still many people who still consume the drug and know the possible harms such as mental illness and early deaths. And almost always, they started smoking well before they hit the age at which they could legally buy cigarettes. To prove these statistics virtuous, A study found that an 19 year old boy” Thamba” who bought an marijuana cookie with a bunch of his friends from a store called Native Root Apothecary that group of friends were told to cut the cookie into six pieces and only to consume one piece at a time. When they returned to their hotel, all of the group ate a slice of the cookie, which contained a total of 65 mg of THC, apiece. Thamba was unhappy at the lack of effect caused by the 10mg. He was impatient and ate the rest of the cookie at once. Next morning when he woke up he was shivering and started to act very weirdly, started destroying the room, smashing lamps, the television, and furniture. He fell over the railing which was on an elevated hallway overlooking the hotel’s lobby, and plunged to his death. The coroner said that weed intoxication was a major factor in his death. The autopsy report stated that there were 7.2 nanograms of active THC per ml of blood. This incident of Thamba could validate the statistics discussed above and makes the argument more substantiate and reliable. By this incident quoted by author which is highly statistical and clear cut it forces us to believe that author isn’t unaware about the problem. But this does not represents the credibility of the source since the authors name wasn’t cited in this article which weakens the argument against the question. This argument helps us indicate that marijuana overdose can cause death and shouldn’t be legal since it causes early death and might be impactful to the community living in any particular area especially the teenagers.

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Upon probing all the arguments, I wasn’t convinced enough to change my initial view that marijuana should be legalized. I’ve extensively researched upon the question and have noticed how the authors proposing marijuana to be legal are much more qualified and credible than those who say that it should remain unlawful. The case studies provided in the second argument of the author wasn’t supported enough because the baby who died due to the overdose, it wasn’t investigated whether he specifically died because of cannabis, which makes it difficult to conclude a conclusion or to give a statement which isn’t reliable or valid. Dr. John is a highly qualified writer which increases the validity of his arguments and opinions on the other hand the writer of the second perspective wasn’t cited in the article, this makes it extremely difficult to pass a judgment on this article.

Bibliography

1. https://www.canabomedicalclinic.com/10-common-conditions-medical-cannabis-prescribed-for/
2. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/30/opinion/gitlow-marijuana-use/index.html
3. https://www.marijuanabreak.com/marijuana-related-deaths
4. https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/new-study-suggests-risks-marijuana-use-have-been-overestimated/
5. https://www.theperspective.com/debates/living/should-we-legalize-marijuana/
6. http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/online_features/opinion-should-marijuana-be-legal/article_c0c79d52-2e6e-11e9-8df2-6f1cc833c9f9.html
7. https://www.debatingeurope.eu/focus/arguments-legalising-cannabis/#.XOhhMYhKjIU
8. https://thesleepdoctor.com/2018/11/27/thinking-about-using-cannabis-for-sleep-here-are-some-things-to-know/?cn-reloaded=1
9. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-legalization_n_4151423?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFWwBQJd8aZZvM2CkRM4j_ahPD0AgNS8dV0urMpRILLvpG3DtwUdUX6cFlPsFejjN4K6JIKNo6J_ijqP3j5CMkPUlE2q1oonqdYNjrk_vXj-xaZF0pLDUbrURy4C6HBmAF4bhAkQk4FK_vkK2XPv2F6B18f5d8iRzp2wlhcgs-fv
10. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320984.php
11. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/recreational-marijuana-faq
12. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-marijuana
13. https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/10/18/inenglish/1539863917_686561.html
14. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2172531/green-gold-rush-thailand-malaysia-race-legalise-medical-marijuana
15. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46374191 (globally diverse source/for)
16. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Why-Cannabis-Should-Be-Legalised-In-India/13-01-2019-166025/

Should college be free? People will be able to just sign up to enroll in college, complete their classes, and receive a degree absolutely free. It sounds great, but in reality there’s a price for everything, and when the amount of something like a degree goes up the value goes down. Free college could cause increased taxes, and could decrease the value of college degrees. Free college also could potentially take away the amount of hardworking, successful students by allowing disrespectful, non-compliant students to stroll on in to class and disrupt lessons. My objective is to expose the faults of free college, and how it could negatively impact the United States, before we make a decision we later on regret. When people hear the term “free college” they perch up, and begin to feel a surge of excitement wiggle through their body. The mind focuses on the reward, (in this case free college) and blocks out the reality of how college would really be paid for. This is because they are told what they want to hear, and not the realistic effects of free college. When someone says “who wants a million dollars” you will more than likely spring up from your seat and beg for the money.

Imagine that the answer to your reply is “well, better have someone else provide you with that money.” This is essentially what free college would be. Nothing is really free. College would be paid for by increasing taxes, and collecting money from wealthy hardworking individuals. Why should people who work hard to earn their share of wealth, sacrifice their own money to pay for someone else's college? In fact, many of these wealthy individuals have already completed, and paid for their own college. A big part of college is meeting the challenges containing college debt, and having to work hard in order to restore that debt. This brings a sense of motivation to college students forcing them to put forth their best effort in order to accomplish their goals as a student. Without this financial barrier college students may take advantage of the free program by failing, and skipping classes the hardworking citizens of America would be forced to pay for. Receiving a college degree is a great accomplishment to many people in the United States. This degree signifies hard work, sacrifice, and an improved knowledge base. If we were to hand every single person in America a chance at a free degree, the significance of sacrifice, and hard work could be flushed down the drain.

Ever notice how many high school students don’t put in effort? This is because high school is free, and if you fail, what’s the harm? Its free right? This could become the state of mind future college students fall into if we were to move forward with the idea of free college. Another problem with the significance of a degree going down, is the fact that many job positions will be filled due to the number of students graduating for free, leaving other graduated college students with degrees unemployed. The basic idea I'm trying to demonstrate is college degrees will lose a lot of value, then what would be the point of free college? Many people argue that college is too expensive, and free college could give everyone a chance to earn a degree. While this statement is true, everyone would have the opportunity to enroll in college, there are many other ways to pay for college through athletic and grade scholarships, Hathaway programs, and simply making monthly payments. There are many ways to pay for college, and the hard working individuals who achieved their degrees through student loans and scholarships go on to prove this statement.

The fact that people think they shouldn't have to pay for college ties in to the statement in the paragraph above. They want something valuable but are not willing to put forth the time, money and effort in order to accomplish this. This goes on to show just how lazy American citizens are becoming. By looking at every negative aspect of free college, people can begin to see that there aren't many positive aspects about free college. I believe free college would take away from the value of college degrees leaving many college students unemployed, or not earning their full potential wage. I also believe free college would give kids who don't really want to put forth effort a chance to use college as an excuse to mess around for a few more years before becoming a responsible adult. If you want something in America it's always possible, but it’s not always easy, and it’s never free. Hard work and dedication demonstrate just how far someone can go in the country we live in, and college is one of those goals you have to make sacrifices, and work hard to achieve. I strongly suggest we offer more payment programs, rather than forcing the rich to pay for college. In my opinion free college would be more of a problem then a resolution, and I believe we should not entertain the idea free college.

I recently read the essay Double Identity, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. The essay discussed the way that the authors life was as she grew up. She discusses how she had to live two separate lives, do to the strict family rules and also the influence society had on a young mind. Houston wrote the essay in narrative form.

The title fit the essay well. It describes how Houston felt when she was growing up. Since she had to live practically two separate live, do to her strict family rules, Houston did have double Identities.

One identity was used when she was around her family. The type of family she lived in was a traditional Japanese family. When she was around them she acted very much like a women that was in raised in Japan (similar to her mother). She was timid, not very outspoken, and respected the men of the house greatly. The other identity was used around her young Caucasian friends. When she was around them she was outspoken and not as timid. Later in her life she began having problems with her husband. She also had problems deciding how she should raise her children.

I enjoyed the way Houston described her family and her identities. I felt that through a description of those characters you could determine a feel for them. From what she told of her brother, how the taught her how to ride a bike, and drive a car, and they also took her to her first dance and how they told her to watch out for the Caucasian boys and that all they want is sex, you could they that they were very loving to her and protective of her. When she describes her father and his strict ways you can see that he was a good man that wanted the best for his family. He as well was protective of his daughter because she talks about how he never liked the boys she dated and never let her wear the same clothes the Caucasian girls wore.

Houston also discusses the relationship she had with her siblings. She had five older sisters, and four older brothers, and she was the youngest. She describes how her older sisters used to help her mother, and her brothers used to help her father with his fishing business. To her the women were always meant to stay in the house to cook, and clean, while the men worked. Not until later in her life did she see that things dont have to be like that. It was her other lifestyle, the one she used with her Caucasian friends that opened her eyes to that.

An emotional decision that she went through her life was dating. She liked Caucasian men and she liked Japanese men. She wanted a man hat was like her father, in the ways that he was unpredictable, dominant, and brilliant-yet sensitive and poetic, a blonde Samurai(Pg 314). She was also worried about whether her family would approve. Her other siblings that married had married Japanese mates and she didnt know if she would. She was also afraid of the way her father would react. When she met her husband though her father had passed away, and her mother accepted the marriage openly.

When Houston married she was unsure on how she should act with her husband. She was scared that if she acted like a Japanese wife (like her mother, serving her husband dutifully, and being totally subjected to him) he would take advantage of her. She was also scared that if she acted too much like an American, modern wife that he and she might be dissatisfied with the way the marriage turned out. She her self though states I did not want to be the authority. (Pg. 316), meaning that she didnt want to be in charge of the relationship, to her that would be humiliating for the both of them.

When her children were born Houston was faced with another problem, how should raise her children. Houston was torn between raising them traditionally, with her familys beliefs strong in mind, or if she should raise them with American beliefs. She didnt want to raise them like her mother raised her because it was a different time and a different world. She states my world is radically different from mothers world, and all indications point to an even wider difference in our world from our childrens (PG. 317).

I thought that Houston worked well with the audience. I believe her voice was casual, and flowed, like in a conversation. At times in the essay I was able to tell when she wanted to get a point across because the tone, or voice, would get serious. I felt that the connection with the audience was comfortable as well.

The essays clarity, I feel could have been refined. At times in the essay you see that the author contradicts herself. If you read in to the sections, you can see why she is doing that. The essay itself is a contradiction, so in seeing contradictions you see what the author herself is going though. Even though the essay could have been a bit clearer, I feel that the contradictions were important to have and the essay was clear, all together.

I believe that the authors purpose in this essay was to show what it was like growing up in a traditional family and dealing with her peers. Maybe this essay was a form of venting out old emotions. I think her authorization for writing this essay is verified. Do to her personal experiences she seems like she knows what she is writing about in this essay.

Double Identity was a very well written essay. It truly gave me a sense of what the author was discussing. There are also many people that had to deal with the same kind of difficult decision making that the author had to deal with. Its interesting to see how she went about handling the decisions. The decisions were very important and definitely affected the rest of her life.

Table of contents

1. The Result on Adulthood
2. The Elderly Problem
3. Over-medicated Society: The Solution

I’m a part-time nanny, for the sheer joy of spending time with energetic rascals. It may be exhausting, but it comes with some stellar moments. It also comes with accident prone kids and scraped knees are an all too common occurrence. When you’ve got a screaming child on your hands, the band-aid is a gift from the heavens. “I’ve got just the thing for you, this will fix it right up – all better now? ”The crying stops immediately as the band-aid attaches over the wound and the child smiles.“All better.”The bandaid works miracles. Everyone is happy once more.

The mysterious part comes into play when no one falls over and no one scrapes their knee; when there isn’t a need for a band-aid at all. The other day one little boy got a mosquito bite. It was a little itchy and soon he became a miserable little boy on the verge of crying. “Will a band-aid help?” I asked.

He nodded and I fixed a band-aid onto the mosquito bite. “All better now?” “All better,” he replied with a proud grin. Naturally, the band-aid didn’t actually do much at all. Yes, it stopped him from itching the bite and making it bleed, but it was undoubtedly still itchy. In his mind, however, the band-aid had fixed the problem. The placebo effect at its finest.

The Result on Adulthood

When we believe that a bandaid can fix any type of wound as children, at least part of that idea is bound to follow us into adulthood. Only a quick glance around at today’s society confirms that idea. One glaring example: everyone is popping pills at the drop of a hat. A headache because we didn’t drink enough when we were running around all day in the heat of summer? A couple of paracetamol tablets will fix that. Got a terrible cold and tied to the bed all day? Get the doc to give you some antibiotics. Heartburn after eating that hot curry last night? There’s medication to fix that, too.

The real question is: Do we really need to take these medications?

Or are we simply taking them because we feel we need do something to fix the problem somehow? Just like that bandaid that worked miracles for us as kids.

The Elderly Problem

The height of the problem shines brighter as we get older. Unfortunately, it is natural for our bodies to wear down with age. Things that used to work perfectly start to slow down. Our body gets tired. The problems we have are much greater in number than they once were. And, just as we did for the rest of our lives, we resort to the bandaid approach and look to something that can fix our problems.

The result? Far too many medications. One for blood pressure, one for cholesterol, one for the heartburn, one for arthritis, one for the blood, one for pain, one for when we feel down, one for the nausea or constipation that we get from taking all the other medications. It all becomes a big mess of drugs in an attempt to fix our problems.

Over-medicated Society: The Solution

Sometimes, it’s just not as simple as slapping on an easy-fix solution. Just as a bandaid doesn’t fix a mosquito bite, some medications only make us feel like we’re being proactive about our health. A more practical solution is prevention. Rather than stick a bandaid on a mosquito bite, use insect repellant to stop the whole problem before it becomes one. Likewise, treat your body well before you get sick to prevent sicknesses creeping in. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about: eat well, exercise well, drink water, avoid toxins like smoking and alcohol and get enough sleep.

All of these things contribute to a healthy immune system and truly do help to keep you body healthy and avoid sickness. That is not to say, however, that you won’t get sick. You will. Even the most health-conscious person will get sick eventually. But when it happens, we need to approach it in the right way, which brings me to the second point. Understand the problem and the solution. More than anything, we need to get to know our bodies and understand what works for us individually. Sometimes, as much as we want to do something to feel like we are in control, the best method is to wait and ride it out. Your immune system will beat that cold virus if you just give it a chance. Maybe your high blood pressure could be managed by reducing the salt you eat, rather than taking medication every morning. Same goes for cholesterol with eating less saturated fats. What I’m trying to highlight here is that we are living in an over-medicated world. It has become the normality because we have adopted a culture that advocates for a quick bandaid fix. This becomes a real mess when we have a number of more complicated problems to manage. Instead, I urge you to find out about the substances you put into your body. Discover if you really need them. Understand why they help you. Are you opting for the quick bandaid fix?

Bridges usually don’t have the same shape and size. Bridges have a lot of elements in common for example to get people across for one place to another safe and the quickest way possible, to be able to hold its own weight, all bridges have a piers that hold up the center of the bridge. The aspects that engineers need to consider when designing and constructing bridges are bridge location and length, the materials needed and the type of bridge needed.

The first thing engineers have to take into consideration is the bridge location and the length because distance on how long the bridge is going to be, they have to know this so that they know what materials are needed to use for example if they are building a short bridge fiber rope would be used the most. Timber would be used for bridges that are gonna be in public parks or private property. Engineers have to know if the bridge is going to cross over a river, bay or if they have to connect islands to the mainland. “The exact location of a bridge is carefully chosen to simplify construction, reduce cost, and ensure the bridge is strong and durable”(Woodford). Bridges can be use full for many different things. When building a bridge you have to know the weight of the traffic that must go across the bridge.

Will the bridge survive through all the weather conditions that can occur, can it handle high winds and snow or will it start to sway back and forth until it breaks. The bridge has to be able to support its own weight and of course the weight from all the traffic. Engineers have to know what bridge type they’re gonna design. Is it gonna be an arch bridge, suspension bridge or a beam bridge, or a truss bridge. “Civil engineers decide which type of bridge to build based on the weight or load that the bridge must support, the distance the bridge has to span, and the forces of nature that the bridge will have to endure”(Lewis). Engineers have to know what is the length that the bridge is going to be mostly used for, is it to cause less traffic. The Arch bridge is the safest bridge when it comes to traffic and weather. Its the safest bridge because it can hold the most weight out of all the other bridges. Engineers have to know what materials to use in order to make the safest bridge possible.

They have to know the width of the bridge, make safety rails and walkways. Materials used to build bridges include rope, wood, stone, iron and much more. They have to make sure that all the materials fit their budget and make sure that the materials will last years so that they don’t have to keep replacing them. “Durability of materials and maintenance requirements are important considerations, as the true cost of a bridge is not simply the initial construction expense but the total cost of constructing and maintaining the structure throughout its service life”(bridge structure). All bridges must consist piers that will hold up the center of the bridge.

Materials, bridge type and bridge location and length are what I think are the three most important things that engineers have to take into considerations. In order to make a bridge that is affordable, safe and still have a nice design. There are more considerations that engineers have to consider but those are just the three main priorities when building a bridge.

Works Cited

1. Bridge Structure. (2019, June 13). Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation.
2. Bridge Types: Tied Arch Bridges. (n.d.). National Steel Bridge Alliance.
3. Engineering Bridges. (n.d.). Science Reference Services, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/engineeringbridgesTB.html
4. How Are Bridges Built? (2017, July 26). Live Science.
5. How Do Engineers Design Bridges? (2019, November 5). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/11/05/how-do-engineers-design-bridges/?sh=736cd986250b
6. Introduction to Bridge Engineering. (2018, April 2). The Constructor. https://theconstructor.org/structures/introduction-bridge-engineering/18398/
7. Materials Used in Bridges. (2013, December 14). What-When-How.
8. The 10 Most Amazing Bridges in the World. (2016, October 14). Engineering.com.
9. Types of Bridges Based on Span, Materials, Structures, Functions, Utility, and Position. (2011, February 4). Brighthub Engineering.
10. Woodford, C. (2022, January 17). Bridge Engineering. Explain that Stuff!.

The graphic novel Vagabond drawn by Takehiko Inoue has a superb art style. Vagabond is based on a book named Musashi, which has a more complex storyline. The art style is well-defined throughout the book with minimal coloring and realistic details. His illustrations show individualism and stand out compared to most other graphic novels. Takehiko expresses his feelings for the book by portraying it through his drawings, which gives the book meaning and sentimentality. In the story, the author uses many techniques to depict this novel. One of Inoue’s techniques is shading. Shading is a crucial skill for artists because it shows more depth and realisticness in their art. Without proper shading skills, the art looks less detailed and more plain. It shows which areas of the picture are dense with darker shading, and which are less dense with light shading. The author most definitely succeeded by professionally shading his drawings, making the art more detailed compared to it not. Shading is a critical part of the author showing individualism in his work while showing the character’s emotions throughout the book. In the novel, Inoue uses darker shading to show when the main character Takez? is in deep thought or unhappy. He also conveys the message of the book by drawing the landscapes darker or lighter to fit the mood of the events in the book.

The author shows in the novel the author uses onomatopoeic words in the novel to show movement and loud noises. The author uses bigger text to symbolize louder sounds and smaller text to symbolize softer sounds. Onomatopoeia is almost essential in graphic novels because it gives out the best feature of an object and the sound it makes. Without it, there would be no sufficient way to visualize sounds. Onomatopoeia helps readers to hear the sounds of the words they reflect. Hence, the reader cannot help but enter the world created by the poet with the aid of these words. Another important aspect the graphic novel is the art style. Inoue’s exceptional art style shows individuality in his art. This is because art is a way to express oneself. The author showed through his drawings his interpretation of Vagabond and what he thought the characters looked like in his head. He showed the way the characters spoke, moved, and behaved through his art.

Moreover, Takehiko draws the characters the way they would be in the time where the book takes place. He changes the way their features are, their way of speaking, and clothing due to the time period. This says something about him, that he did research on what the people of Japan wore in the past. This brings to light the fact that the book being accurate to its time was important. In conclusion, Takehiko Inoue expressed the mood of the book sufficiently. This is due to his well- defined drawings and art style. The author remarkably drew out the message of the book with his interpretation of the book. He definitely succeeded in all the techniques in the novel. Lastly, Inoue’s proficiency to draw out the character’s emotions is meritable and he most definitely accomplished drawing a stunning graphic novel.

According to the eighth amendment in the United States Constitution, every American citizen is protected from cruel and unusual punishment in the criminal justice system. Throughout history, there have been many court cases that have ruled against or for the death penalty, but the issue of whether capital punishment is morally just or not is still debated today.

As a culinary arts student, I am for the death penalty as I see it a good form of punishment on the grounds that it deters citizens and prevents criminals from committing violent acts, is an extremely cheap financial method of punishing criminals that affirms righteous life, and provides retribution to victims and their families. An opposer of the death penalty on this argumentative platform could reference the Supreme Court case of Furman v. Georgia. In Edward Koch’s essay, “Death and Justice,” he points out that many people debate that the seizure of any life cheapens the value of life itself, and no price should be put on it. Despite all the opposing arguments that criminalize capital punishment, society cannot disregard the fact that by executing dangerous murderers, we make it impossible for cruel people to ever commit violent crimes again. As American citizens, we should appreciate that the amendments of the Constitution guarantee rights and protections to each and every citizen, and the death penalty works to uphold the American Constitutional foundation of liberty and justice for all. This appellate case was able to abolish the death penalty in 1972, with the argument that all present methods of execution, such as hanging, electrocution, and the gas chamber, were forms of cruel and unusual punishment.

Some victims don’t agree that the “eye for an eye” mindset can be morally justified, according to their religion or spiritual standards in my opinion. Instead of attempting to implement new laws based on ambiguous religious scriptures, spiritual opponents should first be informed of all the rules established by Supreme Court cases that clarify how capital punishment upholds all human and American rights. By carrying out death penalty sentences, the government successfully prevents serious offenders from ever killing again, and warns citizens that they might receive the same punishment if they ever commit brutal crimes. This view is understandable, but fails to realize that the government has different rights compared to individual citizens. It is irrefutable that the death penalty is cheaper than incarcerating menacing citizens for life, and by putting such treacherous human beings to death, we improve the quality and value of life for society. Many current arguments against capital punishment, like Bright’s, provide examples of outdated death penalty cases that have sentenced children, mentally ill, and self-represented defendants to death.

One of the main goals of punishment in the criminal justice system is retribution, which means equal punishment is ordered according to the severity of the crime. This establishment ensures that indignant or mentally ill defendants will not be executed because they couldn’t properly represent themselves. No matter what a person’s spiritual denomination, he or she cannot deny that the death penalty is the only humane way for retribution to adequately be served to murderous criminals. (United States of America) Because of this clause, many Supreme Court appellate cases throughout history have been debated and established standards that justify the death penalty and uphold citizen’s rights.

After that amount is multiplied by the number of dangerous inmates serving life sentences, it is economically logical to employ capital punishment in the corrections system, which only costs taxpayers $86.08 per lethal injection. This case ruling protects citizens’ Constitutional rights, and establishes guidelines to the death penalty that ensures the upholding of each defendant’s dignity throughout the corrections process. The sanction of the death penalty is not murder, because it is not a violent and immoral act, and it is performed in the best positive interests of society.

This discrepancy proves to be “problematic” for both sides of religious arguments because Westmoreland-White and Stassen evaluate that the “original context of The Sixth Commandment neither demands nor prohibits capital punishment”. Koch reports that spiritually based arguments frequently reference the Ten Commandments and teachings of Jesus in the Bible.

In 2002 and 2005, the Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons cases outlawed the execution of mentally ill or developmentally disabled offenders, as well as offenders under the age of 18.

In their essay “Biblical Perspectives on the Death Penalty,” Westmoreland-White and Stassen declare that The Sixth Commandment has been translated as “Thou shalt not kill,” as well as “Thou shalt not murder,” in different languages. Mainly, the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia case ruled that death penalty, executed by lethal injection, was a lawful sanction because it required that defendants facing capital punishment must be offered the opportunity to appeal at any time during the court process, their cases must be split into trial and sentencing phases, and both mitigating and aggravating factors contributing to the defendant’s guilt or innocence must be presented during trial. Religious advocates and opposers of the death penalty tend to argue specific quotes of The Bible in their favor, but throughout their essay, Westmoreland-White and Stassen reiterate the well-known fact that Jesus’ teachings and biblical verses should be interpreted as morally directing “proverbs,” not as literal “laws”.

However, others, like Koch and myself, argue that funding the well-being and sustenance of convicted killers is much more diminishing and disgraceful to the quality of human life, than if such monsters were just put to death. How can the families of victims live peaceful lives, knowing that their tax money is being used provide a healthy, comfortable, and long life for the person who murdered and striped their loved one of human dignity? The capital punishment requirements outlined by The Supreme Court allow victims and their families to know that justice was served for the despicable crimes committed against them, and relieves families of any guilt, knowing that the criminal was punished humanely and fairly. According to a 2012 survey from the Vera Institute of Justice, holding one criminal in prison costs taxpayers an average of $31,286 a year. Direct biblical sayings from Jesus Christ such as “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword,” and “love your enemies and pray for your persecutors,” (Matthew 26:52, 5:44) are powerful statements used to argue that humans should “break out of cycles of rivalry, jealousy, bitterness, hatred, and violence” because God will justly “give rain and sunshine” to each individual, according to his actions.

In summary, to establish an orderly legal system that functions with clarity, our founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, in which a guideline for the creation of laws in America was embedded, that gives citizens the power to voice their opinions and work to update statutes as time goes on: Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed – that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.

Work Cited

1. Bright, Stephen B. “Why the United States Will Join the Rest of the World in Abandoning Capital Punishment.” Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case. Ed. Hugo Adam Bedau and Paul G. Cassel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 152-182. Print.
2. Cole, George F., and Christopher E. Smith. Criminal Justice in America. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print. Hall, Charlene. 'Methods of Execution.' Pro-death Penalty. N.p., 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
3. Henrichson, Christian, and Ruth Delaney. 'The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers.' Center on Sentencing and Corrections 20 July 2012: 9. Vera Institute of Justice, 2012. Pdf. 1 Dec. 2014.
4. Koch, Edward I. “Death and Justice.” Redwoods.edu. N.p.: 1-3. N.d. Pdf. 9 Dec. 2014. Matthew. Holy Bible, New International Version. Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
5. United States of America. Congress. The Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia: n.p., 1776. Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
6. Westmoreland-White, Michael L., and Glen H. Stassen. “Biblical Perspectives on the Death Penalty.” Religion and the Death Penalty: A Call for Reckoning. Ed. Erik C. Owens, John D. Carlson, and Eric P. Elshtain. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004. 123-138. Print.

The Pro-Life argument is portrayed as a moral debate, however it’s largely a philosophical one pertaining to the beginning of life.

For many years science told us that the beginning of life is at conception, however, in modern times the line is starting to blur significantly. The four main issues of the Pro-Choice argument are:

1. They claim so heavily that they are all about choice but they never give choices to the defenseless human inside the mother.
2. Any line you draw to signify life besides conception can be applied to modern day adults, thus the line is unreasonable.
3. Their largest defense of their access to abortion is based on less than 2% of data.
4. They believe that putting the child up for adoption is an injustice to that child.

So in this essay I will argue that the Pro-Life argument is most in line with American values and law.

The baby is never given a choice. The reason this is such a problem philosophically is that the mother’s choice instantly determines the baby’s life and future. When the mother decides to take away the future of that living child, her decision is unquestioned. However, later on when the baby is born and placed in her arms, if she then killed it she would be arrested for murder. The dilemma there is, Pro-Choice supporters are saying the location of that baby’s body determines if the murder is legal or not, which is absurd conceptually. Basically, it is legal to kill a baby because it is trapped in the womb, however, as soon as a single body part comes out of the mother, it is considered a human with full rights and is then illegal to kill. Overall, the baby’s life should not be determined by its physical location (womb or in arms). Life and law should apply to all persons, even those who can’t speak.

Secondly, when a group of scientists claim that a certain trait is the definition of life, they immediately endanger a population of adults who share those traits. For example, some scientists claim that a heartbeat defines life. Thus, any baby less than 3 weeks old, or without a heartbeat, is not living- thus, it is okay to kill that baby. The problem with that is that there is a significant population of adults who don’t have a real heartbeat and live off of a pacemaker, an artificial heart machine. Under Pro-Choice logic then, someone should be able to murder those people because they are not considered alive. It is easy to see that that logic is ridiculous.

Another example commonly cited as the start of life is brain activity. Thus, any baby less than 5 weeks old, or without brain activity, is not living. Thus, it is okay to kill that baby. The problem with that is that there is a significant population of adults who don’t have much brain activity at all, for example anyone in a deep coma. Under Pro-Choice logic then, someone should be able to murder those people because they are not considered alive. Again, this is absurd.

Lastly, many scientists believe that sentience marks the beginning of life, thus a baby can’t be considered alive until it is born. Someone who is sentient will have the ability to receive internal sensation and information from their environment, and then interpret this as an emotion. Again, there is a large amount of times where humans are not sentient, and under Pro-Choice logic someone should be able to murder them. An example of this is when we are asleep. We are not sentient or aware of our surroundings or develop emotions based on those surroundings because we are sleeping and our brain is resting. Thus, can people legally murder any person who is sleeping? Obviously, that is laughable. The only time a baby goes through something that no adult is currently experiencing is during conception. Humans are only conceived ONCE! That is why conception is and should be considered the start of life. Thus, killing that baby at any point after is and should be murder.

Third and perhaps one of the largest mistakes of the Pro-Choice supporters is that they use under 2% of data to justify the legality of the other 98% of abortions. When defending the Pro-Choice argument, many bring up rape and incest as prime reasons to keep it legal, however, that is a drastic misjudgment considering the data. It’s estimated that more than 55 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. since 1973, based on accumulative data from the two primary sources of U.S. abortion statistics — U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Guttmacher Institute.

“Actual percentage of U.S. abortions in “hard cases” are estimated as follows: in cases of rape, 0.3%; in cases of incest, 0.03%; in cases of risk to maternal life, 0.1%; in cases of risk to maternal health, 0.8%; and in cases of fetal health issues, 0.5%. About 98.3% of abortions in the United States are elective, including socio-economic reasons or for birth control.” – Dr. William Robert Johnston.

Clearly, you can see there are other motives that cause most abortions in the United States. A large majority (over 98%) of them are because the mother doesn’t want the child. Thus, using rape and incest to keep the other 98% of murders legal is preposterous and unfair statistically.

Values and Law

Lastly, if people choose to have unprotected sex, they should expect pregnancy to follow. Regardless, even if they do use protection, a condom for example, and it breaks during sex, they can simply go purchase a Plan-B pill and use it so that abortion doesn’t have to happen later on. Sperm can live inside the vagina for about 5-7 days. If you take Plan-B within 72 hours of having unprotected sex, it can reduce the risk of pregnancy by up to 89%. If you take Plan B One-Step within 24 hours, it is about 95% effective. Abortion shouldn’t have to occur with these birth control tools openly available. Abortion should not be a form of birth control.

The Pro-Choice community specifically in America love to explain that giving kids up for adoption is a large injustice to the kids. In fact, America has one of the best systems in the world due to our transfer to the Foster Care system. Since the 1950s, more children have lived in foster homes than in orphanages in the United States, and by the 1960s, foster care became a government-funded program. Since then, U.S. orphanages have vanished entirely. Now America has modern boarding schools, residential treatment centers and group homes, though foster care remains the most common form of support for children who are waiting for adoption or reunification with their families. In addition, adoption agencies such as American Adoptions help pregnant mothers find homes for their newborn babies and infants without them ever entering the foster care system. These modern foster care and adoption options help all types of families and children who need support, not only orphans, or children who have lost their parents. In fact, most of the children in foster care have at least one living biological parent.

Final Thoughts

Many Pro-Choice thinkers like to assume that having an abortion is much better than a “life of suffering” in the foster care system. In fact, many successful people have come out of Foster Care such as John Lennon, Steve Jobs, Marilyn Monroe, Eddie Murphy, Malcolm X, Willie Nelson, etc. The American Foster Care system allows children a chance at greatness and a happy life, abortion is the theft of that chance. So as seen from the essay, the Pro-Life argument is far more logical and in line with the law of the United States. Clearly access to abortion is being grossly overused and needs some limitation, if not total prevention.