Death

The Road by Corm McCarthy is a novel set in a post-apocalyptic world following the path of a Father and Son. McCarthy is a highly celebrated award-winning author. He is 78 years old and has an 8-year-old son – an uncommon circumstance – underlining that for him, death is imminent and prompting him to consider the ideas discussed in his novel. In The Road, the father is undergoing a crisis of faith and so adopts an Existentialist view and creates meaning through his son – who therefore influences many of his actions.

I found McCarthy use of techniques such as Juxtaposition and antithesis that counter the macabre images throughout the book with those of love between the father and Son both repulsive and fascinating at the same time. The earth is in a state of despair – there is no electricity, transport or access to food/ water. Much of humanity has turned feral, losing all sense of the moral code that makes us human. McCarthy uses the Mother and Father to show conflicting choices made in this environment. The Fathers choice was to live because of the belief he has in his child, which he formed in his despair. If he is not the word of God than God never spoke. Because of the nightmarish situation the world has been placed in, he finds it hard to hold onto his religious beliefs concerning God and so instead looks to find another meaning in life to give him reason to continue – his son. If the son is not worth keeping alive then everything that he once believed in must be false. On the other hand, the mother takes a nihilistic view. “Why don’t we talk about death anymore? Because it is here. There is nothing left to talk about. ” She chooses to kill herself, as she believes that there is no point prolonging the inevitable. They will ape us, kill us and eat us. ” This represents a grotesque corruption of parenthood. For the mother to take such drastic measures we realize the true gravity and hopelessness of the situation. However, even though the mother can see this clearly, the Father, who cannot give up hope while his son lives, cannot bear to let this hope die even though it may be in the child’s best intentions. We can clearly see the effect the son has on his father because he has chosen to follow his belief system and fight to keep his son and therefore hope alive.

The mother and father are both in the same tuition but choose to follow different paths. However, as McCarthy further explores in the novel, both of these choices will ultimately end in death. Through the son’s actions, McCarthy suggests a different path to choose in this environment, while continuing to demonstrate the sons influence over the father. When they come across a shuffling, limping man who looks close to death the father insists that nothing can be done. “Can’t we help him Papa? ” The son shows a compassion and humanity that the father, in his quest for survival, lacks this.

He chooses to treat everything, hostile or otherwise as a threat. This is an understandable mentality but as the son demonstrates to us certainly not the only one. Later in the novel, the pair come across a little boy and a dog on the road. “We should go get him, Papa. We could get him and take him with us. We could take him and we could take the dog. The dog could catch something to eat…………. What about the little boy? He sobbed. What about the little boy? ” In this case, the boys kindness seems to go beyond Just compassion.

He seems to see himself in the little boy (if not purely for any reason ether insists that they cannot trust a little boy Just like him might make him consider if they really are the ‘good guys’ and ‘carrying the flame’ -the only comfort he draws from their situation. McCarthy clearly shows us the son struggling to accept his father’s mentality and starting to form his own based on compassion and his own innate goodness. The fathers crisis of faith develops throughout the novel. Towards the beginning of the novel, we see how he had mixed feelings over God, as he felt abandoned in this hell on earth. How does the never to be differ from what never was? Even with the son to place his hope in, the father’s crisis of faith is enough to make him question if god ever existed. To cope with the world he lives in he adopts the mentality of ‘shoot or be shot’ and treats everything with suspicion and little compassion. However, we see exceptions to this rule where the sons influence is concerned like when they meet the old man Eli on the road and the father gives him food due to the sons pleading. But the real change occurs in the father towards the end of the novel when he knows he will die soon and accepts the son’s mentality. Whatever form you spoke of, you were right. The father is beginning to understand the boys mind set. But immediately after this comes the death of the father and although showing the son truly alone, it also represents the death of his mentality and his religion which acts as an external body of rules used as a moral code. This organized religion has broken down in this environment. However, the son demonstrates a different path based on an innate goodness inside us. God was meaningless to the boy, he came from a world he did not understand or belong to. The boy never needed the father for meaning – His innate goodness is meaning in itself.

This mentality that the son can now carry on lends to the possibility of a future in this world that would be based on the assumption of an innate goodness in all of us that must be found in order to remain human. McCarthy is discussing the value of faith – something worth living for, a reason to try to survive in the harshest of Corm McCarthy discusses the relationship between father and son situations. In his novel The Road. The father choice to make the son his Warrant’ to live shows the influence he has on him. ‘Glowing like a tabernacle. ‘ He literally sees his son as a odd like figure.

However, McCarthy makes clear throughout the novel that the fathers choices he makes in an attempt to protect his son are, while understandable, far from admirable. The father constantly treats everything as a threat. The small boy they encountered was left behind because the father suspected a trap. He nearly killed the already half-dead man who stole their shopping trolley of supplies. The path offered by the son is the more morally correct and therefore human choice to make. It seems as if the author is counting on the existence of the innate goodness inside all of us.

Although he discusses the worst of what we are capable of, he sets up the expectation that humanity will find the best of itself. It is clear that the sons influence over his father went as far as to start to break down the walls of his religious mentality but in order to see the true demise of his organized religion the father must die. As a 16-year-old living a pampered life, this novel is a bit of a slap in the face. McCarthy forces us to ask the hard questions. At your core, are you good? Does your compassion outweigh your selfishness and greed? I would love to say yes but I’m not sure that I can.

A Reflection on “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” Rebeca Espirito Santo The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner “From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze Six miles from the earth, loosed from its dream of life I woke to black flack and the nightmare fighters When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

” Randall Jarrell “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”, by Randall Jarrell, is a surprisingly simple and brief poem; nevertheless it is extensive in content.Due to carefully chosen words, with great descriptive power and an appeal to symbolism, Jarrell skillfully accomplishes the task of providing readers with detailed images and feelings of the turret gunner’s situation, yet leaves plenty of space for the reader’s imagination, interpretation and critique. While reading this poem, one can be encouraged to question the image we have of our soldiers – those who have no fear – while not questioning their bravery. War can produce gruesome situations that can cause even the bravest men to face their fears.The poem’s incisiveness is demonstrated by the fact that if the reader doesn’t see the title, or if one isn’t familiar with what a ball turret is, it becomes very challenging to even know what the poem is about. Once the reader forms a clear image of a B-17 “Flying Fortress” or a B-24 “Liberator”, with it’s small Plexiglas ball turrets located in the bottom fuselage, it becomes extremely easy to visualize the soldier’s situation. From the first half of the second line – “And I hunched in its belly” – of the poem it is possible to picture how uncomfortable, lonely and vulnerable the gunner was in the bottom of the airplane.

Then, in the second half of the same line – “till my wet fur froze” – one is able to envision the soldier’s distress due to his nervous sweat and the cold, thin air. The gunner was in an extremely vulnerable position. Even if he was spared another gunner’s bullet at the end of the mission, he knew he was still not safe. In the case of a forced landing, he knew he would be sacrificed. On the third line – “Six miles from the earth, loosed from its dream of life” – one can observe his acknowledgment of this surreal reality.This leads the character to the understanding of not only his physical distance from earth, but also from earthly life and the odds against him going back to that life. He was already preparing himself for the worst and suppressing his hopes of survival.

Through the distress of a single man, Jarrell is able to depict the fears of a lonely soldier in an extremely vulnerable position, and invites us into the heinous reality of war which forces us to question our impressions of soldiers having no fear yet not questioning their bravery.War can produce gruesome situations that can cause even the bravest men to face their fears, but it is how they deal with this fear that is the important part. Ball turret gunners were courageous warriors. They were fully aware of how susceptible to death they were, nevertheless, they would continue to fight time after time. WWII was a dreadful episode in human history that killed millions of people, and its bloodshed is described by the UN Charter as a scourge that “has brought untold sorrow to mankind”.Jarrell had served in the military himself, thus he knew – at least to some extent – what he was trying to address. The most fascinating aspect of this poem is the paradoxical relationship between its physical briefness and its vast evocative power.

His words are so carefully chosen and descriptive that it grants the reader with greatly detailed images and feelings of the turret gunner’s situation and the broader issue that he represents. The use of more words becomes unnecessary; hence, Jarrell masterfully proves that length isn’t as important as depth and power.This piece’s paradox and theme struck me. As already discussed, Jarrell’s capability to evoke so much with so little is quite amazing. It depicts an issue of my personal and academic interest. As a Political Science major with a background in International Relations, war and its causes, consequences and issues intrigues me. The grievance caused by war is something that affects me quite deeply.

This poem shows a very personal, crucial moment in a soldier’s life.They truly believe they are going to war to fight for their nation with an ideology that has been forced into their head that they are willing to give up their lives for. At the end of the day, unfortunately, the gravity of these soldier’s personal sacrifices are often lost – converted to a statistic – among the many thousands of sacrifices that occur during war. This poem seemingly parallels this situation in that it is a small and relatively simple poem – lost in a sea of countless other poems – yet upon further investigation reveals something much more meaningful.

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman expresses the terrible death of  Abraham Lincoln. “And the great star early droop’d …. ” taken from the second line of the poem demonstrates the reference to President Abraham Lincoln with “Great Star” as the representation being the 16th president of the United States. Whitman’s yearly reminder of Lincoln’s death is symbolizes by the blooming of the lilacs in April which justify the same month in which Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman makes use the imagery of lilacs to successfully convey the vigor of the poem.

Lilacs here emphasize the things about the death and elegy of Lincoln. The first one is that the lilacs symbolize sorrow in the beginning but currently represent closure. It means the death of the president brought them sadness but the lilacs place on the coffin gives them hope because it is a symbolic gesture of honor and respect. It also signifies that even though the flower is rotten, again and again there will be new lilacs when spring comes. Just like Lincoln, through his elegy his memories will be revived. The turning point of this poem which was written by Whitman deals with death and acceptance of it.

This line explains it “I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves; I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring”. He proves his optimistic outlook here. Lilacs also indicate the repeated sequence of life. Whitman perceives from the lilacs, that passing away is an unavoidable factor of this cycle. The images of the lilac represent love, hope, life, despair, and rebirth. They also serve as a channel that leads Whitman to understand death. Through this poem, Whitman honors Lincoln as a magnificent leader and a noble person. Aside from this, it is also important because it provides end for the nation in bereavement.

Above all, the poem of lamentation efficiently shows that Lincoln’s heritage will always be reborn among the blossoming lilacs when spring returns. In my own opinion, Whitman changes poetry forever by having a concrete representation of his feeling about the person whom he adores and respects too much. The way he delivers the details of his poem, it shows that the whole nation involves here and he tries to comfort all of them even himself. In that aspect, it’s very hard for a poet or writer to address wholeheartedly the entire story of the person being emphasized.

Because it may lead him to the wrong motives and implications, it can be a big issue to the readers or listeners, it maybe biased and more on criticism. But as he connects one line of the poem to the other, we will notice the strong feeling of Whitman that he is affected by the tragedy happened to the president. And he tries his best to put the details into figures of speech so that the true essence of poetry will not be erased. I do believe that Whitman change poetry forever by simply putting his heart in his poem, his true feeling and the lesson that he learns after making the whole poem.

Death and its inevitability is the main theme of both the short stories, Appointment in Samarra and . However the portrayal of Death in the stories differs to some extent. The reality and inescapability of death is evident in both the stories as they both end with the hapless man involved being taken by Death in the end, even though both the servant and the godson try to cheat Death, either by running away or trying to beg for mercy.

In fact there are many similarities in the authors representations of the character of Death. The most notable one is to endow Death with emotion or feeling, though the degree to which this is done varies in the stories. Another similarity is in their portrayal of Death as not entirely all-knowing; the Death in Appointment in Samarra is surprised to find the servant in Baghdad that implies a less than omniscient being.

Godfather Death himself is not in complete control of the fates of his victims, being unable to control the candle flames or to override his godson’s breaches of trust. They are both represented in some measure as simply custodians of a greater will. However even within these apparent similarities differences arise on comparison of the two stories. Firstly, the most evident difference is in the physical portrayal of the two Deaths. In Appointment, Death is described as a woman.

It is also clear that the figure of Death is not frightening in appearance as a stereotypically ugly and withered creature; the servant says only that a woman jostled him and when he turned she made a threatening gesture at him. It is the gesture and not the appearance that inspires fear in him. The Grimm brothers portray Death in a more stereotypical way, describing him first, clearly as a man and in addition describe him with adjectives such as “bony”, conjuring up a picture of a skeletal forming a tattered robe.

His figure itself is suggestively fearful. Another difference arises when we compare the personalities of the two Deaths. Maugham’s Death is more impersonal than Godfather Death. She does not appear to be capable of great emotion or feeling but is certainly endowed with some measure of it; she says, “That was not a threatening gesture, it was a start of surprise…” This clearly implies the ability to feel; after all, surprise is an emotion.

However it is not accompanied by rage at his attempt to escape or any other deep emotion. Rather, there is a quiet confidence in her own inevitability, which is clear by the very nature of the tale. In contrast Godfather Death is volatile and exhibits far more human reactions; there is pride in his statements that he makes “all men equal” and “whoever has me for friend shall lack nothing”. He is also vengeful as is clear by his final revenge on his godson and brooks no attack on his authority and power.

Though both are inevitable Godfather Death seems to be less secure in his power than the quieter but equally merciless Death in Appointment. A third difference lies within their similarities and is a little more complex; not quite so evident. As previously noted, the Deaths in the two stories are simply instruments of fate. They both lack absolute power and complete knowledge but they differ in this respect too. In Appointment in Samarra, the Death seems to have more power over the fate of men than Godfather Death.

It is clear from the story that Death was in the marketplace to claim another victim (perhaps the merchant as he was able to see her and Death would presumably not be visible to everyone or the servant would not have been so panicked at the sight of her. ) She was surprised to see her next victim there when she knew before hand that he was to die in Samarra, implying a foreknowledge of her duty but not omniscience in general or she would have known that he would be in the marketplace and be scared into running.

Therefore she was confident in her power over men’s lives. Godfather Death does not seem to be endowed with the same sort of surety. If he was that powerful he could simply have overridden the doctor’s predictions and taken the king and his daughter. However he allowed himself to be thwarted twice. Even when his godson begs him not to let the candle go out and to light him a new one he says that he is unable to do that, that it must go out before a new one can be lit.

And though it is clear too that in the end he cannot be cheated of his victims, he is not portrayed with as much inexorability as in Appointment. On the whole, though the Deaths are different in gender and temperament, they both are portrayed as an inescapable reality. The difference of Godfather Death and Death in their performance of their duties is evident as Death does not brook any escape and is merciless in an impersonal way while Godfather Death is merciless in heat and anger. However in both stories it is clear that Death is what awaits us all.

“Explore The Secret Garden’s representation of illness and recovery. ” The Secret Garden, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is a children’s story that has endured enormous popularity since its publication in 1911. The novel centres round a young and lonely protagonist, Mary Lennox. Mary’s journeys in The Secret Garden- both physical and spiritual- have been followed by child readers and often remembered long into adulthood.

The text communicates to readers themes such as death, sickness, and recovery and it is largely because of this addressing of serious and sometimes relatable issues that the novel has been considered such a significant contribution to children’s literature. The notions that illness and unhappiness of all kinds can be ‘cured’ by positive thinking is a concept that runs through the text and is generally attributed to the authors own belief in Christian science.

Burnett was known to have found comfort in spirituality and this ‘New thought’ ideology whilst dealing with the deaths that occurred in her own life and the resulting depression from them. By exploring the representations of illness and recovery within The Secret Garden readers are able to recognise the messages and lessons Burnett as an author was attempting to portray to children. From this, readers can also gain a greater contextual understanding of the kind of society Burnett- and in turn, her characters- would have existed within.

In many works of children’s literature, it is common for parental figures to either not be present or to be removed from the story in some way, to allow the child protagonist to have their own ‘adventure’ without adult supervision. The Secret Garden is an example of this, but what stands apart from other children’s texts is the harshness of the situation that Mary as a character is immediately faced with. By the end of The Secret Garden’s first chapter, both Mary’s parents and any servants that provided care for her have been killed by an outbreak of cholera.

Mary Lennox is instantly surrounded by death at the beginning of the story, and her sudden physical loneliness only draws attention from readers to the fact that Mary was very much alone and uncared for in the first place; as Burnett writes, as soon as there is an outbreak, “…She was forgotten by everyone. Nobody thought of her, nobody wanted her…” . Death and sickness are the themes that open The Secret Garden to readers and in turn give readers the first impression that these hemes are what largely define Mary Lennox as a protagonist. Before Mary is taken to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, she first stays in India with an English Clergyman and his family. What is interesting about where Mary is taken when she must leave her first home is that she is only seen as safe and away from disease when taken into a British setting- even if it is only made British by the people she is living with.

It is decisions like this one made by Burnett that affirms to readers that India is seen to her as a ‘sickly’ place; the novel in fact opens with a paragraph stating Mary “had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. ” It is important to consider that the first outbreak of Cholera is seen in the servants- those who are native to India- which is the cause of Mary’s parent’s death. India is frequently suggested to be an unhealthy place, especially in comparison to England, which as The Secret Garden progresses is shown to be the place where character’s health improve.

This apparent view of an English writer seeing England as a place of good health, whilst a foreign place to be somewhere that produces sickness and death, puts forward the question to readers of whether they are being presented with an accurate perception of settings, or if they are reading the descriptions of someone who is significantly biased. Understanding this, adult readers should consider if child readers could be negatively influenced by the writer’s own opinions.

The locked away and hidden garden in Burnett’s The Secret Garden is seen to be the symbolic centre of the novel even before its discovery. It’s introduction through Martha, who tells Mary after some hesitation “One of th’gardens is locked up. No one has been in it for ten years. ” is one that creates the first real mystery of the text, something to occupy Mary’s thoughts while she begins life in Yorkshire and stir curiosity in readers, suggesting to them that there are more secrets to be discovered than just the many shut away and forbidden rooms of the old manor house.

Although Burnett claims the garden at Mary’s first sight of it to be “The sweetest, most mysterious place anyone could imagine”, the first description of the setting is decidedly centred round the fact that all the trees and flowers that were once there seem to no longer be alive. Like the opening scenes of The Secret Garden, this new scene is one largely defined by death. The garden has been hidden away and unwanted, much like Mary herself in the beginning of The Secret Garden, however, the situation is different in that pon discovery, someone wishes to care for it. Mary claims “Is it all a quite dead garden? I wish it wasn’t. ” These words from the protagonist could be seen as a kind of positive development in character; Mary is learning to feel compassion for other things. It could be argued that Mary’s wish to look after this garden stems from an innate desire to ‘get better’ herself. Despite Mary’s interest in caring for the garden, it is believed to be lifeless until Dickon is introduced into the text.

Mary confides in him and brings him to the garden, and almost immediately he is able to find traces of life in the otherwise decaying surroundings, telling Mary it is “as wick as you or me. ” Dickon as a character seems to represent both nature and health; Mary finds him surrounded by animals and the author describes him have “Cheeks as red as poppies”. The way he seems to portray both health and a close bond with nature suggests to readers that Burnett herself sees a strong connotation between contact with nature and good health.

Nature is often used throughout The Secret Garden to describe healthy traits; The doctor at one point claims Dickon to be “as strong as a moor pony”. Nature even outside of the garden or Moors is seen to be intrinsically linked with being healthy in the text; both Mary and Colin’s wellbeing seems to depend on the changing of the seasons. It is only when spring arrives that Colin feels strong enough to sit up for breakfast with his cousin, claiming “I am breathing long breath of fresh air. It makes you strong. ” The two children’s health and progress seem to rely heavily on the matching progress of nature and the seasons outside.

Considering this, readers could ask themselves if Burnett has intended this to be because of how she may see nature and health intrinsically linked- the two children must ‘bloom’ with the seasons and the flowers in the garden- or whether it is because she creates two characters so dependant on nature for their happiness. In the lonely, remote manor house with barely any other children around to play with, nature and the garden are some of the only things for Mary and Colin to build an attachment to. Colin is a character who is introduced to the text after much mystery; he is the cause of the crying Mary has been hearing every night.

His character of the ‘invalid hidden away’ is one that has been seen before in other works of fiction- a notable example to draw parallels to is the character of Bertha in Jane Eyre. Colin and Bertha represent the kind of characters that were created in a “Victorian fascination with the “imaginative potential of disease” . Sickness was something that could define a character and make it interesting to readers; a kind of morbid fascination with things that were not yet entirely understood. Being unwell in the Victorian period was itself not seen as an entirely negative experience.

Diane Price Herndl states in Invalid Women that “ Invalidism has historically offered women a way . . . to achieve a kind of power when no other means opened up”. This in theory could apply to Colin as a child character. Children, like women in the Victorian period, gained a kind of power from being unwell, as others are forced to attend to them and oblige to them for fear of sickening them further. Certainly, being treated for being unwell is the only kind of attention that Colin is able receive until later in The Secret Garden.

The way Colin is treated for his illness seems to resemble the ‘rest cure’ treatment, a method that was developed in the 19th century. He is confined to his bed and isolated from other people, told to rest and never over stress himself, isolated from anyone around him. Until Mary meets him, there seems to be no foreseeable time when he will ’get better’. Colin says to Mary when they first meet “If I live I may be a hunchback, but I shan’t live. ”. Colin has essentially resigned to waiting in his room to die.

Whilst Mary as a character strikes readers as having a fierce will to live, and a kind of innate desire to become more healthy, at this point in the novel Colin seems to contrast against her in that he does not see himself living past childhood- as he has been told his entire life. However, hope for his improvement is created through the situation that he and Mary are first introduced to each other. Mary meets Colin at a point where she herself is starting to improve in behaviour and become more like a normal, healthy child.

She is confused by the way that Colin acts, telling Martha later “I think he’s a very spoiled boy. ”; scarcely recognising that she herself was not very different to him before she came to Yorkshire. The fact that Mary has found Colin whilst in the process of becoming more healthy herself is encouraging to readers, as if Mary can improve from being a spoilt, ‘sickly’ child, then it seems likely that Colin is able to as well. In addition, Colin appears in the text as Mary is slowly learning to want to are for things and nurture them, implying that Mary can in turn look after and help Colin become more healthy. Colin’s actual state of health in The Secret Garden seems debatable. There is never an assigned name to the illness that keeps him from being mobile, other than being told that he may one day develop a hunchback like his father. His bouts of cold and fever seem to be directly related to how hysteric he becomes in his ‘fits’, his weakness seemingly due to the fact that he has barely ventured outside of his bedroom during his lifetime.

It is Mary who is the first character to dismiss the idea of his ‘sickness’ and in turn his unavoidable premature death, telling him “There’s nothing the matter with your horrid back- nothing but hysterics! ”. It is almost as if Colin’s own belief in his ill health has been created through the negative beliefs of others, and Mary as a character who is new and unfamiliar with these negative presumptions if the only person who can see past them.

This concept that Colin is not truly unwell, but made to think he is and therefore acts as if he is disabled in some way, seems to align itself with Burnett’s own beliefs in Christian science and New thought ideology. It also suggests to readers at this point in the novel that Colin is a character who can become better; he has willed himself into ill health, so there is no reason why he cannot similarly will himself into becoming more healthy.

Despite the authors own apparent perceptions of sickness being based on Christian Science beliefs- that sickness can be cured through positive thinking- it has been suggested by some that real forms of illness are present in some of the characters in the text. Mary and Colin are seen as neurotic figures; Mary’s indifference to death and her solitary games have seen her diagnosed as pre-schizoid, whilst Colin’s obsession with his own imaginary hunchback has been seen to class him as a hysteric.

Burnett admits herself that “Perhaps they were both of them thinking strange things children do not usually think”. She as an author seems to understand that the child characters she has created do not act as normal, healthy children would. Though the possibility of Mary and Colin’s mental illnesses are just theories, it brings the question to readers of whether the treatment, or rather lack of treatment, being provided to each child is entirely appropriate. After all, each child has dealt with a great deal throughout their short lifetimes.

Mary has practically witnessed the deaths of all that she first knew, whilst Colin has been confined to one room for his entire life; perhaps most importantly, neither of them have ever had loving parental figures present, so would surely be psychologically affected by this in some way. Modern day readers must consider that treatment of illness was in the time Mary and Colin would have existed in, very different to what is used now- for example, the ‘rest cure’ of enforced confinement and bed rest has since been discredited as a treatment to any condition.

Whilst contact with nature and other children obviously shows signs of improvement in Colin and Mary’s wellbeing, readers might ask themselves if this would be the case of ‘real’ children in the character’s places, and if by the finishing chapters of The Secret Garden, Mary and Colin can be considered entirely ‘cured’ of their past problems. Word count: 2,383 Bibliography * Lawson, Kate, The Victorian Sickroom in L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle and Emily’s Quest : Sentimental Fiction and the Selling of Dreams, Volume 31, Number 3, 2007 (http://muse. jhu. edu/login? auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v031/31. lawson. html) * Gohlke, Madelon, Re-reading The Secret Garden, vol 41 no 8 (JSTOR) * Carpenter, Angelica, In the Garden: Essays in honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett (http://chapters. scarecrowpress. com/08/108/0810852888ch1. pdf) * Hunt, Peter, An introduction to children’s literature, 1994, Oxford University Press * Hodgson Burnett, Frances, The Secret Garden, Puffin Classics, 1911 * (http://www. sciencemuseum. org. uk/broughttolife/techniques/restcure. aspx) (definition of rest cure) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Gohlke, Madelon, Re-reading The Secret Garden, vol 41 no 8 [ 2 ].

Numerous debates and arguments have already emerged on the issue of stem cell research. This has come to advent from the time scientists and researchers utilized human embryos in studies and researches. Those who have opposed the research contended that it is unacceptable to use human embryos for the purpose of research and experiments. It is however herein argued that the benefits and advantages that mankind can derive from stem cell research can supercede any negative issue that the opponents of the research has raised against it.

Understanding the Stem Cell

Stem cells are unspecialized animal cells that can renew themselves and replicate into any form of body cells. Stem cells are primarily categorized into three but pluripotent cells which can divide continually and has the ability to develop into any given form of cell, has been the basis of all the interest in the field of science and medicine. Pluripotent cells have the ability to develop into any given form of cell, otherwise known as stem cell plasticity.

Stem cell plasticity allows a single stem cell to develop and become a cell that makes up the brain, the heart or any other forms of cell in the body. Pluripotent stem cells are taken from young embryos and are therefore more popularly called as embryonic stem cells.

The reason why scientists are so eager to study pluripotent cells from embryos is that they can help in finding cure to a number of existent illnesses and diseases such as kidney failures, cancer, and heart diseases that, to date, have limited or non-existent treatment yet.

The Side of the Critics

Two premises have been the major contentions of those who are opposed to stem cell research. One is that stem cell research constitutes immorality in that critics of stem cell research argue that it is immoral to use and exploit human embryos for use in experiments and research. They say that an embryo has the potential to become a person and that destroying it is equitable to murder. They claim that destroying human embryos for the purpose of obtaining stem cell lines is murder of innocent lives.

The second contention of critics is that the use of human embryos in the research is a disrespect to the value and dignity of human lives present in an embryo (Bedford-Strohm).

Why Stem Cell is Beneficial

The reason why many researchers and other famous people support stem cell research is because of the potentials of the research in putting to end many of man’s physical illnesses, afflictions and ailments. Scientist, for example argue that studies of stem cells can bring forth the development and creation of new human organs that are much needed for transplants.

This is of much importance, according to the medical and scientific community for reason that organ transplants today are limited due to risks by the immune system to reject another organ from another person. Organs that are created out of stem cells, scientists contend, are not rejected and in fact complement the body of any person.

In addition to this, the number of patients that die because of the need for organ transplant has escalated not for reason of immune system rejection but because of the inavailability of organs that will be compatible for use in the transplants.

Scientists believe that when stem cell studies are pursued and improved, they will be able to create new organs that will cater to the needs of patients looking for compatible and available organs. These organs would be of such necessity to patients with kidney problems, cancer and several diseases who need new organs in order to survive, live normally and even live (Herold).

Scientists also argue that it is stem cell research is necessary because it will allow them to study human cells better which can result in the formulation of the proper treatment for diseases, injuries and ailments that currently inflict men. Cancer, for example, which has already claimed thousands of lives will hopefully have cures of stem cell research will be enhanced and pursued.

Limitations of the Critics’ Position

Those who are opposed to stem cell research only have two major reasons why they are against the conduct of the research: their claim that stem cell research is immoral in that it constitutes murder; and their claim that the dignity of the human person existent in human embryos are disregarded.

These very reasons in themselves have their own limitations in that while embryos that are used for stem cell research are indeed destroyed, these embryos that are in fact bound to die. It is important to consider that the embryos that are being used in stem cell research are taken with consent from in vitro fertilization where most surplus embryos die when storage facilities malfunction and when parents of these embryos decide not to take them because of economic reasons.

Whether there would be stem cell research or none, these embryos will not develop into human beings and most of these will become discarded without use. It is therefore better when instead of being disposed, these embryos will be utilized in research and studies that aim to improve human lives.

The other contention of those who are against stem cell research is that the dignity of the human person existent in a human embryo is and ignored. Human embryos that are used in stem cell research, as already explained will not become humans and as such, no human dignity is being disrespected and if there were, it still remains more moral to sacrifice very young human embryos for the continued existence of grown up humans that need treatment for a number of diseases and ailments.

This is similar to saying that grown up people who needs proper treatment for their illnesses need more attention than very young embryos that would be sacrificed to meet the medical needs of grown up humans.

Benefits Over Disadvantages of Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research indeed has its limitations in the moral sense that its critics and opponents raise against it. These limitations and disadvantages, however, cannot supercede the benefits and advantages that can be brought about by the promises of stem cell research especially in the ability of stem cells to create new organs and to result in cure to many diseases that have tolled in many deaths and afflictions.

Stem cell research will brought forth new organs that are very much required for dying patients with body organs that have been damaged, no longer work and need replacement. The organs that will be created from the knowledge gained in stem cell research will give hope to patients whose days have already counted because of cancer, aids and similar incurable diseases. Stem cell research will allow these people to live better, healthier and happier.  It is noteworthy to understand that the sacrifices, including the human embryos that have to be destroyed in the process of bringing more meaningful lives to others  would not be much.  This can be much understood when a family member or a loved one is on the verge of death and only the breakthroughs in stem cell research can make a difference.

Conclusion

Stem cell research has become a moral issue for reason that it makes use of human embryos for the purpose of research. The destruction of the human embryos in the conduct of the research has been considered by critics of stem cell research to constitute disrespect of human dignity and even murder.

This argument, however, have been proven to be false and that the sacrifices for the conduct of stem cell research is necessary to give hope particularly to those who suffer from incurable diseases and injuries.  It has also been herein proven that while there may be sacrifices and disadvantages in the conduct of the research, the benefits which include giving better, happier and healthier lives to living persons supercede the disadvantages and sacrifices of stem cell research.

United States and China Health Attitudes Although every culture has different belief of being healthy, they all share the same definition. According to Mastsumoto and Juang (2013) healthy is defined as, “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity” (p. 180). Not only do it takes physically, mentally, and socially well-being but diseases free to be classified as healthy in all cultures.

The United States and the China culture share many differences and similarities when it comes to the belief of being healthy. Recently, there was an interview between a twenty-five year old Chinese girl and me. This girl owned her own business. She was born and raised in China but moved to the United States when she turned twenty years old. She told me she learned that China and the United States share many differences and similarities toward being healthy. The Chinese girl told me in the interviewed in China, they mainly believe in the principle of yin and yang to be healthy.

According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2012), “The concept of yin and yang is also applicable to the human body; for example, the upper part of the body and the back are assigned to yang which is cold foods, while the lower parts of the body are believed to have the yin character which is hot foods. Yin and yang characterization also extends to the various body functions, and – more importantly – to disease symptoms (e. g. , cold and heat sensations are assumed to be yin and yang symptoms, respectively). ” Yin and yang is what Chinese people use as a balance between good and bad health.

They believe that imbalance of yin or yang is what leads to poor health. For example, if a person eats too much of yin, which might be spicy foods, they are told that the yin caused them to have poor health; this person sure drinks some herbal teas to balance him or her back to good health. Although China believes in good health, there are a lot of mental health people there. The Chinese girl also told me that there are a lot of people in China that have mental health problems – over millions. Most of the mental health problems are due to depression.

There are a lot of mental health patients in China that attempts suicide. According to Li, Philips, and Cohen (2012), “More women attempt suicide than men. The most frequent causes of the attempts were interpersonal conflict (87%), psychological problems (33%), and conflict between others that affected the subject (27%)” (para 1). The Chinese girl said the main cause of the women attempting suicide is due to interpersonal conflict, psychological problems, and conflict with the other people. There are no solutions for the mental health problems in China.

Not only do they have mental health problems but also chronic diseases. China is known to have more chronic diseases than any other diseases. The Chinese girl told me they are known to have a high risk of cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer. Summary chronic diseases now account for an estimated 80% of deaths and 70% of disability adjusted life-years lost in China (Longde, Lingzhi, Fan, Yamin, and Burton, 2005). The chronic diseases death and the disability adjusted life-years lost are very high in China.

The chronic diseases are mostly related to high blood pressure and tobacco used. Most of these people that die from chronic diseases are middle-aged people. The Chinese girl talked about how the Chinese uses the yin and yang to diagnosis chronic diseases. She also stated they use herbal to try to cure these chronic diseases. I told the Chinese girl unlike China, the United States also have a theory they use to become healthy. I told her the United States believe in the influence of the biomedical model of health.

The biomedical model of health is where the doctors look at parts of the body to figure out what is wrong with the body and fix it (Helman, 1991). An example of biomedical model of health would be a person going to the doctor because he or she is having chest pain. First, the doctor will do an x-ray on the chest. Secondly, the doctor will diagnosis from the x-ray of the person had a chest or a heart attack. Last, the doctor will give the person some medicine to cure his or her chest pain. Mental health is more common in the United States than in China.

The Chinese girl stated that she read that over twenty million people in the United State have mental health (Manderscheid and Henderson, 2004); which is more than China. The age of mental health patients in the United States is over 18. Although, in the United Sates, most women suffer from mental health than men, mental is not due to depression of attempt suicide but depression of mood disorders. There is no cure for mental health problems in the United States. Not only is the United States common known for mental health problems but also diseases that lead to death.

I told the girl in the interview that the United States three death diseases are heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Heart disease is the first leading death in the United States. Heart disease occurs mostly in men than women; it is mostly in older people (Fang, Kate, and Nora, 2011). Heart diseases are mostly could by smoking and not eating healthy. To cut the heart disease status, a person should exercise, do not smoke or quit smoking, and eat the right foods such as fruits and vegetables. Cancer is the second leading death in the United States.

According to Klabunde, Brown, Ballard-Barbash, White, Thompson, Plescia, & King, (2012), “Each year, approximately 350,000 persons are diagnosed with breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer in the United States, and nearly 100,000 die from these diseases” (para. 1). There are over twenty-five percent of people in the United States diagnosed with cancer. The cause of most cancers is unknown. There is no cure of cancer. Stroke is the third leading death in the United States. Fang, Kate, M. and Mary (2012) stated that over fifty percent of the United States has been diagnosed with a stroke.

Stroke is known to be cause by high blood pressure, stress, high cholesterol, and smoke. The cures to be stroke free is to exercise, eat healthy, and do not smoke. In conclusion, the interviewed between the Chinese girl and I was to help realize that there are a lot of differences and similarities of being healthy in each culture. China and the United States have theories of being healthy; they just have different theories – China theory is called yin and yang while the United States theory is called biomedical model of health. Both China and the United States have mental problems; the United States just have more.

Another example of the cultures similarities are they both have diseases that cause death such as heart disease and cancer.

Reference

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