To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: essays research papers

To Kill A Mockingbird Many say that the central theme in the movie To Kill A Mockingbird is southern society and racism, but the central theme is the mockingbird, of which racism is a small part. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and father of two children living in Maycomb, Alabama, says: â€Å"they say that to kill a mockingbird is a sin because all the mockingbird does is sing for us all day.† The mockingbird symbolizes something or someone who is attacked by society unjustly, and that includes two characters. First, the mockingbird theme holds true for Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man who works as a field hand and is charged with raping a white girl and put on trial. Atticus defends Tom in the trial and makes it clear that Tom is innocent and even proves that someone else was responsible for the girl’s wounds: her father. Even though Atticus has proved Tom innocent, he is still declared guilty, put in jail, and sentenced to death. Another character, Boo Radley, also fits the mold of the mockingbird. Boo was probably just a normal boy who was unfortunately born to parents who weren’t the nicest in town and liked to keep to themselves. It was rumored that, as a child, Boo was cutting out articles in the newspaper for a scrapbook and when his father walked by, Boo plunged the scissor blades into Mr. Radley’s leg, took them out, and just kept cutting the newspaper like nothing had happened. From that point on, his parents kept him locked in the house. The whole town was convinced that he was something of a monster and came out at night peeking in peoples’ windows. It was even rumored that he wilted every flower he passed. Throughout the course of the book, Jem, Atticus’ son, finds little treasures in the hollow of the tree by their house: a watch, a ball of string, a spelling bee medal. When Jem is attacked by a drunken man one night, Boo Radley comes to his rescue and finally shows him self, and it is evident that he has been the one leaving the treasures in the tree in an effort to bond with Atticus’ children. Why are these innocent people being judged by society? Surprisingly, it’s the same reason that racism started: people whose lives were secure and comfortable started to become threatened by something different that might alter their lives and felt the need to remove the threat.

Legal Age to Drink – Should It Be Changed?

Legal Age to Drink: Should it be Changed? In this day and age with more sophisticated teens and young people abusing alcohol, the issue concerning whether or not teenagers should be able to drink at a younger age is an important topic. In the article â€Å"Perils of Prohibition† Elizabeth M. Whelan argues that alcohol should be legalized at the age of eighteen instead of twenty-one. She hopes to persuade readers, parents, and educators to support her proposal for the change by successful alcohol education.Although Whelan provides valuable examples to prove that proper alcohol education is an effective solution in reducing the problems faced with alcohol abuse among American teenagers, she does not provide enough substantial evidence to justify changing the legal drinking age to eighteen years old. In the beginning paragraphs, Whelan compares alcohol consumption with American teens and their European peers. She says, â€Å"American teens, unlike their European peers, donâ€⠄¢t learn how to drink gradually, cautiously, and in moderation† (2).This is a great example because it makes the readers think about the different cultural views of alcohol consumption among youthful drinkers globally. Though the consumption of alcohol in France, Spain, and Portugal is higher than the United States per person, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower (4). Whelan hopes to prove that if moderate alcohol consumption and proper awareness of the use of it is instilled in children eighteen years old and up then drinking alcohol should be okay. She compares three countries to the United States in her example.We live in a pretty big world, is it the same in other â€Å"drinking† countries? The example is fairly effective but comparing drinking habits in only three countries to the United States is not enough to persuade readers. In order to gain support for successful alcohol education being a key factor in helping the problems faced with alcohol abus e, Whelan mentions an example involving her daughter. She explained to her daughter the differences in alcohol contents and the importance of not drinking on an empty stomach (8).The strength of this example is effective because it is coming from personal experience. It’s detailed and provided by a woman whose education and occupation qualifies her to make this kind of study. This type of person often makes you want to believe him or her. However, this piece of evidence uses the hasty generalization fallacy. A single personal experience or even many is not enough to convince readers. People’s personal experiences differ greatly. And how do the readers even know if alcohol education was successful with her daughter?Her daughter may not have gotten herself into trouble recently but she’s still under the legal age of drinking and who knows what would happen once she goes off to college? Because of her daughter’s age and the fallacy used, creates a weak examp le for supporting alcohol education. Whelan continues with examples to prove that proper education is the key instead of prohibiting teenagers the right to drink until the age of twenty-one. She mentions tragic accidents that occurred at the Ivy League school her daughter Christine will be attending in the fall.A student who was nearly electrocuted when, in a drunken state, climbed on a moving train. The student survived but lost three of his limbs (10). A second incident where an intoxicated student ended up in a chimney and was found three days later dead (10). She hopes to convince readers that students do not make good choices when they drink, if they’re not educated properly. The tragedies with the sick, injured students are fair because they’re emotionally appealing to the reader but weak because she fails to provide statistical evidence as to how often injuries of this kind occur.The examples are extreme and rare ones that are unlikely to happen on a regular bas is. Whelan continues supporting her claim by mentioning a study that was done at the Harvard School of Public Health by her colleagues. What they found in their survey of college students was that they drink â€Å"early and . . . often,† frequently to the point of getting ill (1). She defends her claim by appealing to authority as evidence. And readers would not be happy knowing that students are becoming sick from irresponsible drinking – the human factor.This study is included to let people know that college students are drinking irresponsibly and becoming sick from it as a result. Not surprisingly, she failed to provide statistical evidence again. That is, evidence of how many students is involved in the survey and the diversity of people in the study. These are important factors needed to be included in the survey to make it believable and convincing to the readers. Finally, two analogies are given by Whelan in hopes of her readers to accept her case. This author c reates a weak analogy when comparing sex education to alcohol education.In an attempt to change the legal age of drinking to twenty-one, she says â€Å"we choose to teach our children about safe sex, including the benefits of teen abstinence, why not about safe drinking†? (13) The only similarity is that drinking and sex can cause unsafe or unwanted events, therefore it makes sense to be educated on both subjects. However, the similarity is not relevant enough to be considered a good analogy. Safe sex education has been taught for many years to children but it has not stopped them from having sex or preventing unwanted pregnancies.If this is the case, how would safe drinking education be convincing to the readers to change the legal age to eighteen? The second analogy which is fairly significant in dealing with the unfairness of the legal age to drink, is comparing the ability for teens to be able to drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risks th eir lives in the U. S armed forces to drinking. She says, â€Å"At eighteen they’re considered adults but when they want to enjoy a drink like other adults, they are â€Å"disenfranchised†Ã¢â‚¬  (5).Whelan hopes this evidence will convince readers that if eighteen year olds are given â€Å"adult† responsibilities then they shall be treated as adults in all aspects of life, including drinking alcohol in moderation. She makes a great point with the comparison but when comparing voting, paying taxes, taking out a loan, and marrying to drinking, the responsibilities don’t impair your brain in a way that drinking alcohol would. Whelan presents herself as a kind-hearted woman who is a bit upset and frustrated with the current laws regarding the legal age to drink.The example she uses explaining how she educated her daughter with regards to alcohol content shows her taking a subtle approach with allowing her daughter to drink rather than making it appear to be a bad thing if you are under the legal age. (8) She shows compassion and concern. Whelan’s tone throughout the essay is fairly tolerable, but she does show some depreciation towards the government when she compares teenagers being able to â€Å"drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risk their lives as members of the U. S. rmed forces but laws in all fifty say that no alcoholic beverages may be sold to anyone until that magic twenty-first birthday. † (3) When she mentions â€Å"we should make access to alcohol legal at eighteen and at the same time, we should come down much harder on alcohol abusers and drunk drivers of all ages† (12) she is genuinely concerned of the welfare of all people with regards to alcohol and safety. She eagerly wants to make a difference. And as public-health scientist with a daughter heading to college, she has professional and personal concerns in regards to the dangers of alcohol.While it is obvious that Whelan’s heart is in the right place and that alcohol abuse among teenagers is a problem, her argument suffers from lack of evidence to support changing the legal age of drinking to eighteen years old. Proper alcohol education can be helpful in terms of improving the problem but that’s it. Whelan’s article indicates a need for further study on the abuse of teenage drinking. It would be helpful to see statistical results in studies done among colleges across the nation and in all areas from rich to poor. The more valid studies the better chance finding the proper solutions to the problem.

Discussing Emotions in Spanish

Spanish has at least five common ways of referring to emotions or describing how someone feels or becomes emotionally. These include the use of estar and tener; reflexive verbs used for specific emotions; and two verbs that often mean to become, ponerse and volverse. Using Estar With Emotions For English speakers, the most straightforward way to talk about emotions in Spanish is to use estar, one of the verbs for to be, followed by an adjective of emotion. Mi papà ¡ està ¡ feliz de ver su paà ­s. (My father is happy to see his country.) Las autoridades està ¡n preocupados por el incremento de casos de sobredosis. (The authorities are worried about the increase in overdose cases.) Al principio pensaba que estaban enfadados conmigo. (At first I thought they were angry with me.) Va a estar emocionada por conocerte. (She is going to be excited to meet you.) Using Tener With Emotions Although estar can be used with some emotions, Spanish speakers often prefer to use tener, the verb for to have in the sense of to possess, with some emotions. In effect, the idiom is that a person has a particular emotion rather than that the person is in a certain emotional state. For example, although you could say està ¡ asustada to say that a friend of yours is afraid, it would be more common to say, Tiene miedo, literally She has fear. Here some examples of this use of tener: Mi senador no tiene fe en la ciencia. (My senator distrusts science. Literally, my senator doesnt have faith in science.) Antonio le tenà ­a celos a Katarina cuando eran nià ±os. (Antonio was jealous of Katarina when they were children. Literally, Antonio had jealously toward Katarina when they were children.) Si las cosas son diferentes, tendrà © la ilusià ³n de regresar. (If things are different, I will be thrilled to come back. Literally, if things are different, I will have the thrill of coming back.) Reflexive Verbs for Specific Emotions Some reflexive verbs include in their acquiring of an emotion. Perhaps the most common such verb is enojarse, which typically means to become angry or to get angry: Jennifer se enojà ³ cuando la periodista la llamà ³ por telà ©fono. (Jennifer got angry when the newspaper reporter called her on the telephone.) Enfadarse is preferred over enojarse in some regions: Si pierden los llaves, me enfadarà ©. (If they lose the keys, Ill get angry.) Here are some of the reflexive verbs frequently used for other emotions: aburrirse (to get bored with, to get tired of): El abuelo de la actriz  se aburrià ³ de su libertina nieta y la desheredà ³. (The actress grandfather got tired of his wild granddaughter and disinherited her.) asustarse (to become frightened): Vi a la policà ­a y me asustà ©. (I saw the police and I got scared.) alegrarse (to become happy): Se alegrà ³ mucho de recibir la noticia. (She became very happy upon hearing the news.) enamorarse (to fall in love): (Te enamorarà ¡s de los chicos salvadoreà ±os. You will fall in love with the Salvadoran children.) fastidiarse (to become annoyed): Mi decisià ³n se debià ³ sencillamente a que me fastidià © de depender de la nicotina. (My decision came about simply because I became annoyed at depending on nicotine.) irritarse (to become irritated):  ¿Se irrita usted con facilidad? (Do you get irritated easily?) calmarse (to become calm): Durante todo el trayecto estaba preocupado, pero me calmà ³ cuando està ¡bamos aterrizando. (D uring the whole flight I was worried, but I calmed down when we were landing.) entusiasmarse (to get excited): Cuando oyà ³ estas palabras, Paula se entusiasmà ³. (When she heard these words, Paula got excited.) exasperarse (to lose patience): (En ocasiones me exaspero. Sometimes I lose my patience.) preocuparse (to become worried): Nos preocupamos por el nivel acadà ©mico de los alumnos. (We got worried about the academic level of the students.) sorprenderse (to become surprised): Me sorprendà ­ cuando veà ­a que era tan joven. (I became surprised when I saw she was so young.) Using Ponerse and Volverse The reflexive verbs ponerse and volverse are frequently used to refer to changes in emotional state. Although the two can be interchangeable, the difference is that ponerse tends to be used for rapid changes in emotions while volverse tends to be used for more lasting changes. El jugador se puso triste por no ser titular. (The player got sad for not being the champion.) Mi problema es cuando mi amigo se pone indiferente conmigo. (My problem is when my friend becomes indifferent to me.) Los espaà ±oles se volvà ­an felices con la medalla de plata. (The Spanish became happy with the silver medal.) Se ha vuelto carià ±oso y responsable. (He has become caring and responsible.)