Handmaids Tale :: essays papers

Handmaids Tale In what ways can The Handmaid&rsquos Tale be considered a feminist novel? The Handmaid&rsquos Tale is narrated by an oppressed woman, so it is to be expected that feminism becomes a recurring theme. Women have no rights or money unless they have a valid marriage to a man. They are given few options&ndash if they are fertile they can become sex slaves&ndash&lsquo womb on legs&rsquo to Commanders or choose to go to the colonies. Infertile women or&lsquo unwomen&rsquo are seen as having no use so they automatically go to the colonies where they will die from disease or radiation. Their use and status is totally dependent on their relationships with men and ability to have children. Women are used by men and treated as far inferior, in Gilead women are the men&rsquos property. The handmaids especially&ndash&lsquo We are a commodity&rsquo, their names in the household reflect this&ndash Offred&ndash Of Fred. They can be disposed of at will, even the Commander&rsquos Wives have little real importance and are given menial tasks such as ordering prayers at Soul Scrolls and knitting the Guardians scarves&ndash&lsquo Maybe it&rsquos just something to keep the Wives busy, to give them a sense of purpose&rsquo. But this concept of women being extensions and property of men is one used in our own society. Though mostly out dated now,&lsquo Mrs Peter Watson&rsquo is similar to&lsquo Ofglen&rsquo. But practically all terms for women are the extension of the term for men&ndash Mr/s, fe/male, wo/man. This leads to the idea that Atwood is really just exaggerating the current situation of the world. The second quote at the beginning of the book from Swift&rsquos&lsquo A Modest Proposal&rsquo indicates that The Handmaid&rsquos Tale is Atwood&rsquos own satirical view of present times. In an interview Atwood says&lsquo theres nothing in the text that hasn&rsquot already happened&rsquo. The third quote&ndash&lsquo There is no sign in the desert that says&lsquo Thou shalt not eat stones&rsquo&rsquo indicates that she believes Gilead could never come into existence because of the common sense of people, no one could really believe in its philosophy and beliefs, the society&rsquos flaws are too apparent. Another interpretation of the novel is that it is a reaction against any idea that the woman&rsquos place is in the home, that her sole use is one of reproduction. It demonstrates where these views could lead if encouraged or entertained. It gives the idea that men would act that way if given the power, that they would like to be in control and superior. That although men outwardly accept and respect women, inwardly they do not see them as equals&lsquo I sense in him (the Commander) none of the

Second Variety

Second variety is a wonderful and influential short story written by Philip K. Dick. This is a science fiction which describes the destruction caused to earth surface by nuclear wars making it uninhabitable for human beings. This short story is full of suspense, violence and thrill. In the process of evolution, the second variety is very well equipped to kill the already existing once. Initially it may appear bit difficult to get along the plot, once getting hold then all the turns and twist are amazing.This is a classic piece of literature which conveys a great message to protect human race on earth from the lethal weapons created by man himself. It mainly depicts the destructions caused by nuclear wars. Defeated by Russia, American government flees to moon base and develops advanced technologies to fight back. They develop robots called claws, the killing machine. Soldiers of UN forces are protected by a special kind of wrist tab. They were produced and designed in an unmanned fact ory. Within the span of six years the claws have destroyed the entire Russian army.But later machine overtook man and there was a threat of great disaster. UN forces were urgently summoned by Russians for policy meeting. Major Hendricks is sent for negotiation with Russians On his way he was accompanied by a boy who later turn out to be a 1-V robot. It was reveal that the US wrist tab became ineffective against claws. Along with three Russian soldiers, Hendricks set on a journey to prevent the destruction. And it becomes very difficult for Hendricks to find out who is the second variety robot among his Russian companions. Dick’s short story â€Å"Second Variety† also presented human-like machines, the claws.These machines were made for a world war and eventually broke free of human control, developing machines that could pass as humans (as our smart phones will do someday). Unlike the replicants, the claws were always intent on killing humans-thus necessitating a means to tell them apart. The early models were easily recognized as being non-humans. Unfortunately for the humans in the story, the only way they could tell the most advanced models from humans was by seeing multiple claws of the same variety together. Otherwise, they easily passed as humans right up until the point they started killing.It seems worth considering that the same might apply to psychopaths. To be specific, normal people can catch the psychopaths that are poor mimics, have poor impulse control, have difficulty with behaving responsibly, and possess a poor capacity for assessing consequences. However, the psychopaths that are better mimics, have better impulse control, can seem to act responsibly, and can assess consequences would be far more difficult to spot. Such psychopaths could easily pass as normal humans, much like Glaucon’s unjust man is able to conceal his true nature.As such, perhaps the experts think that these specific traits are part of what it is to be a psychopath because these traits are possessed by the psychopaths they have caught. However, as with the more advanced claws, perhaps the most dangerous psychopaths are eluding detection. At least until it is too late. â€Å"Second Variety† occurs in the aftermath of an extensive nuclear war between the Soviet Union (sometimes referred to as Russia) and the United Nations. Early Soviet victories forced the North American government and production to flee to a Moon Base, leaving the majority of their troops behind.To counter the almost complete Soviet victory, U. N. technicians develop robots, nicknamed claws—the basic models are â€Å"a churning sphere of blades and metal† that ambush their unsuspecting victims â€Å"spinning, creeping, shaking themselves up suddenly from the gray ash and darting toward†¦ [any warm body]. † U. N. forces are protected from the claws by a special radiation-emitting wrist tab. Within six years, the sophisticated and i ndependent claws have destroyed the Soviet forces, repairing and redesigning themselves in automated underground factories run without any human oversight.The U. N. forces receive a message from the Soviets asking for a policy-level officer to go to them for a gravely urgent conference. The U. N. victory was costlier than they had expected. Major Joseph Hendricks is sent to negotiate with the Soviets. En route to the rendezvous, he meets a small boy named â€Å"David† who asks to accompany Hendricks. When they near the Soviet bunker, soldiers immediately kill the boy, revealing him to be a robot. The claws' development program has evolved to develop sophisticated robots identical to humans designed to infiltrate and kill.The three Soviets met by Major Hendricks—Klaus, Rudi and Tasso—reveal that the entire Soviet army and command structure collapsed under the onslaught of the new robots. From salvaged internal metal identification plates, two varieties are identi fied: I-V, a wounded soldier, and III-V, David. The II-V—the â€Å"second variety†Ã¢â‚¬â€remains unknown. The different models are produced independently of each other in different factories. The Soviets also reveal that the U. N. protective tabs are ineffective against the new robots. Hendricks attempts to transmit a warning to his H. Q. unker, but is unable to do so. During the night, Klaus kills Rudi, mistakenly believing he is the II-V. The next morning, Hendricks and the two remaining Soviets return to the U. N. lines. When they reach the bunker, they discover it overrun: a crowd of David and Wounded Soldier model robots attack, but Tasso destroys them with a very powerful hand grenade, stating that it was designed to destroy the robots. Hendricks and Tasso flee, leaving Klaus to the old-style claws. However, Klaus survives both the claws and the bomb blast only to be shot by Tasso, sending â€Å"gears and wheels† flying.Tasso tells Hendricks that Klaus mu st have been the II-V robot. Hendricks, now suffering from a wounded arm and internal injuries, hopes to escape to the Moon Base. He and Tasso search for a hidden escape rocket, which is revealed as a single-seat spacecraft. Hendricks attempts to leave, but Tasso quickly subdues him. She convinces him to let her leave and send back help. In his injured state, he has no choice but to agree. Hendricks provides Tasso with the signal code needed to find the Moon Base.Alone and armed with Tasso's pistol, Hendricks returns to Klaus's remains and discovers from the parts that the robot was not a II-V, but a IV-V. A group of robots then attack Hendricks, including Davids, Wounded Soldiers, and several Tasso—the true II-V—models. Hendricks recognizes that he has doomed the Moon Base by sending a robot to them, and that he cannot withstand the onslaught of robots attacking him. As the Tasso models approach, Hendricks notices the bombs clipped to their belts, and recalls that the first Tasso used one to destroy other claws.At his end, Hendricks is vaguely comforted by the thought that the claws are designing, developing, and producing weapons meant for killing other claws. Dick said of the story: â€Å"My grand theme—who is human and who only appears (masquerading) as human? —emerges most fully. Unless we can individually and collectively be certain of the answer to this question, we face what is, in my view, the most serious problem possible. Without answering it adequately, we cannot even be certain of our own selves. I cannot even know myself, let alone you. So I keep working on this theme; to me nothing is as important a question.And the answer comes very hard. â€Å"[1] Reviewing the story, critic Zack Handlen wrote, â€Å"‘Second Variety' is grim, violent, and suspenseful. There’s enough characterization to keep the protagonists from being indistinguishable, but not much beyond that. While most of the twists are easy to s pot once you discover the main plot—basically [an] ‘Are you or aren’t you a machine' deal—they still have an impact, and Dick makes his point quite clearly. Which isn’t something you can say for much of his other work—[‘Second Variety'] is the most user-friendly piece of his I’ve read.There’s enough uncertainty to know it’s Dick; questions of identity keep popping up, and the good guys/bad guys line is pretty well obliterated by the end. But the plot is logical, and there is a point A to point B to point C evolution that you can follow without too much trouble. † He also remarked on the similarities between â€Å"Second Variety† and the Terminator films, writing: â€Å"When the claws/screamers start changing, their newest models take human forms for much the same reasons the T-800 was created. â€Å"

The Importance Of Teamwork In Business

?Teamwork is the gear to maintain the huge business machine to work, as it helps to improve business performance by providing benefits. It is said that tasks should be grouped in order to make people working toward a shared goal (Lau, 2013). Basically, putting people working together could allow the team members to put effort into the goal which they have in common; it is also capable to maximize the efficiency. Lau (2013) points out that â€Å"A tight feedback cycle is critical to achieve a productive state of flow.†What Lau (2013) suggests is in such circumstances, people who share work and the same project context are able to provide useful feedback to each other at first hand, and it works effectively to avoid the team going down the wrong path. However, teamwork can do more. Lau (2013) makes a statement that teamwork could bring down the risk when doing business decision, which is, a multi-sided view is available when making decisions.Lau (2013) argues that teamwork preve nts obscure and undocumented shortcuts taken by single individual, forcing team members to spread knowledge to cover as many details as they can. Furthermore, people would be able to sense responsibility when they are assigned as a team. Lau (2013) concludes that the motivation from your peer will boost each individual in the team walking forward, overcoming obstacles and getting in the best shape. In conclusion, teamwork allows people to work efficiently and make the idea of the group comprehensive; therefore it helps with business performance to go up. The Importance of Teamwork in Business Teamwork is the gear to maintain the huge business machine to work, as it helps to improve business performance by providing benefits. It is said that tasks should be grouped in order to make people working toward a shared goal (Lau, 2013). Basically, putting people working together could allow the team members to put effort into the goal which they have in common; it is also capable to maximize the efficiency. Lau (2013) points out that â€Å"A tight feedback cycle is critical to achieve a productive state of flow.†What Lau (2013) suggests is in such circumstances, people who share work and the same project context are able to provide useful feedback to each other at first hand, and it works effectively to avoid the team going down the wrong path. However, teamwork can do more. Lau (2013) makes a statement that teamwork could bring down the risk when doing business decision, which is, a multi-sided view is available when making decisions.Lau (2013) argues that teamwork preven ts obscure and undocumented shortcuts taken by single individual, forcing team members to spread knowledge to cover as many details as they can. Furthermore, people would be able to sense responsibility when they are assigned as a team. Lau (2013) concludes that the motivation from your peer will boost each individual in the team walking forward, overcoming obstacles and getting in the best shape. In conclusion, teamwork allows people to work efficiently and make the idea of the group comprehensive; therefore it helps with business performance to go up.

Comprehensive evaluation in Mathematics Essay

Continuous comprehensive Evaluation should be carried out in relation to learners’ cognitive, affective and psycho-motor growth. Cognitive growth refers to the intellectual development of learners (such as learners’ knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Affective growth emphasizes learners’ attitude, interest and personal development. Psycho-motor growth deals with learners’ ability to perform some activity or do some practical work. Therefore, if you want the teaching-learning process to be really effective, you should evaluate the learners continuously and comprehensively Hence to bring about the improvement in the quality of education and the holistic development of the child who is tomorrow’s global citizen, evaluation process should focus adequately on both scholastic and non-scholastic areas of development. Hence the focus needs to shift to comprehensive evaluation. The comprehensive evaluation also needs to have continuity at regular intervals through out the academic year. This thought is further gets support from the fact that the National Progressive Schools Association has also recommended the scrapping of class X board exams This module focuses upon the various evaluation tools and techniques which can be used for decision making with reference to learners scholastic and non scholastic needs. By comprehensive evaluation, we mean that evaluation should not concern itself only with knowledge but it shall also take into account the factors that are inherent in students’ growth such as skills, understanding, appreciation, interest, attitude and habits. In other words, evaluation should cover all the learning experiences of the learner in curricular as well as non-cognitive areas. Need of Continuous comprehensive evaluation. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation is intended to provide a holistic profile of the learner through assessment of both scholastic and non-scholastic aspects of education spread over the total span of instructional time in schools. It helps to identify those positive attributes of the learner which are not usually assessed during the examinations conducted by the Board As it is spread over a period of two years in class IX and X it provides several opportunities for the school to identify the latent talents of the learners in different contexts.

The Commodification of Human Organs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Commodification of Human Organs - Essay Example In short, these programmes have failed to make more organs available for transplantation. They are just unable to meet the requirements of the patients' needs for donated organs. On the face of this dearth of available organs that could have saved or qualitatively enhanced suffering human life, a more sympathetic attitude has long been entertained to create proposals for alternative procurement of organs. This includes provision of compensation to the organ donors. However, this has become an open secret in practice since there is an ongoing debate about the ethical pros and cons of this phenomenon and there are rigorous ethical norms exercised by the authority in this matter. The healthcare professionals who are involved in this area are actually in a dilemma, following ethics strictly leads almost to no practice, and hiding the truth is unethical. This work deals with this dilemma, and tries to critically examine this issue from this author's perspective. In the latter half of the 20th century, the possibility of transplanting organs became real. New advances in immunology and understanding of the mechanism of organ transplantation lead to development of new technologies for transplantation and support for the transplanted organ that, otherwise, would have been rejected by the recipient. Meanwhile, the medical profession accepted the concept of brain death that indicated a point at which death of an individual might officially be declared. Since organ transplantation has become feasible, many ethical issues and questions have arisen. The most important of them was the propriety of arbitrarily redefining death so as to make organ retrieval more easily possible. Gradually, as the science and technique advanced, more and more questions grounded on ethics started coming up. The history also indicates a future (Baker LR., 2000). The rate science is advancing, in the near future, the dream of growing organs from stem cells may materialize. In that case, naturally, the ethical issues encircling transplanting organs from newly dead or from living donors may become irrelevant. Regrettably, this is not the case at present. Ethical rigorousness in preventing financial exchanges around an available organ may, therefore, lead to a situation where some critically ill patients in need of an organ transplant would meet certain, agonizing, and perhaps unnecessary death (Dworkin R., 1993). At this point in time, some of the earlier ethical objections and quandaries, such as, whether organ or tissue donation is ethically permissible in the first place or whether selections made by groups of people were legitimate option, have become irrelevant largely, either because finding, advancement in science, or public consensus has resolved them. Despite this, some very critical ones remain still. These are not around the substantive question of the probity of transplantation in the first place. Ethics have accepted the legitimacy of transplantation very much, and now the probe is on the issues of allocation. In fact, among the most important of the issues that is to be dealt with in relation to the ethics of organ transplantation are the questions dealing with the mode, process, or rules of organ allocation, not to individual patients per se but allocation to centres which in turn allocate to individuals (English, V. and Sommerville, A., 2003). Death

Cloning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Cloning - Essay Example This is not correct. Scientists do not copy embryos. They just take genetic material from a cell and put it into an empty egg cell. With this type of technology, they can develop nerve tissues, heart muscles as well as brain cells. Scientists believe that by cloning, any damage caused by illnesses can be repaired. Cloning involves high risks. The first drawback with it is that it’s very expensive and also inefficient. There are certain cases that have been unsuccessful. For example, in 2001, scientists reported that they had cloned the first human embryo, however the only embryo that survived divided into only six cells. More than 100 nuclear transfer procedures could be required to produce one viable clone. Research shows that cloned animals have high rates of infection, tumor growth and low immune systems. Cloned mice live in poor health and die early. Clones have been known to die mysterious deaths like the first cloned Australian sheep was fit and healthy when it died and causes of death were not revealed even after autopsy. Cloning is done not only for organs but also for an entire human body. Some people like Hitler and Saddam Hussein wanted human replicas of themselves. That’s creepy. To have someone with the same intellect, intelligence and personality as your own kills your individuality. Also if the actual Hitler died, a clone would still be moving around and that’s a scary thought. It’s also unethical as our bodies are sacred; we have no right to destroy any part of it intentionally. We cannot attempt to take nature into our hands. Lots of religious groups say that the male involvement in the process of reproduction becomes useless if cloning becomes successful, and that is not right. Also if this technology falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to perform criminal acts. Moreover, if done inefficiently, it can cause defects in the clone of a human. Then what would we call that clone? A human? An animal? Babies born with a

Human production Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human production - Assignment Example At puberty, the kiss1 gene activates GPR54 gene which then activates hypothalamus to produce GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone); a hormone that stimulates pituitary gland to produce hormones that affect testicles and ovaries. In males, testosterone is produced that affects the development of testes and penis along with the development of secondary sexual characteristics. In females, estradiol is produced by ovaries and it brings about the development of reproductive system and secondary sexual characteristics. An additional effect is the onset of menarche. 6. Spermatogenesis may be divided into three phases: spermatocytogenesis which is a proliferative phase; meiosis which produced cells containing half number of chromosomes and spermiogenesis (mitosis allows division of spermatogonia and they develop into primary spermatocytes and during Meiosis 2 secondary spermatocytes are produced) in which spermatozoa are produced. Seminiferous tubules allow spermatozoa a channel to pass through. Spermiogenesis comes to an end when spermatozoa are released from sertoli cells. Androgen (testosterone) is produced by Leydig cells. 7. Sperms are produced within seminiferous tubules from where they migrate to epididymis. They are stored here until maturation. During ejaculation, the sperm travel from epididymis to vas deferens, the ampulla. At this point other secretions are added to the sperms and the mixture is then propelled towards the ejaculatory duct and then while passing through urethra prostrate gland’s secretions is added. The combination of all these products is now known as semen which takes on a milky color; a secretion that is then expelled out of the body. Uterus is made up of layers of smooth muscle and it is hollow from within. It consists of an isthmus, cervix, fundus and a body. During menstruation, the inner lining show growth of tissue; preparation of the uterus for implantation if