She ran up the wooden staircase Essay Example for Free

She ran up the wooden staircase Essay It is an odd case this. Peterson had a motive I understand his mother was rich, perhaps he wanted his inheritance quickly so he could marry the girl as is good and proper. The girl has a motive Lady Peterson had a rather low opinion of her. I am rather inclined to think of Miss Smith she had opportunity, and motive. Is it a pure coincidence she came down on the same day as the lady was discovered dead? I somehow think not. It must be her that letter proves it! That is an odd occurrence. Of course, there is the possibility she forged it herself to gain sympathy, but I somehow I think not, he paused. I saw the familiar pipe slip out from underneath his cloak and into his mouth. However, supposing she did the deed, and the purpose was to marry Edward Peterson, staging a quarrel with said man seems rather pointless. It was two mornings later when I received an early morning phone call from Holmes that brought me out of my slumber. Hello? I said tentatively. Watson, we are going to visit Miss Smith, my friend said matter-of-factly, without introducing himself or apologising for waking me up what must have been five am, if not earlier. So it was that I found myself on the train to visit the woman I suspected of murder. I was sitting by the window, doing the crossword in The Times, all the while aware of Holmes watching me as a child watches the ants that scurry across the garden path. Tell me, Watson, what would you say if I told you who the murderer was, right here, right now? he asked, an amused expression on his face. You know? I cried. Then why are we visiting the young lady at this hour? No no, my dear Watson, I was merely speculating, Holmes finished, and neither of us said a word until the train reached the station that was to be our destination. Come Watson, my friend said in his usual brisk manner. We will get a horse and carriage from here to the ladys house. She is staying with a friend or so she says in her letter. A letter? I cried incredulously. She sent you a letter! Why hadnt he mentioned this before? The girl believes her life is in danger. She is frightened, understandably so. It is my job to help her, he stated matter-of-factly. Yes but- I stopped. The horse and carriage had arrived, and I followed Holmes clambering in to it. Of course, she may be mistaken, he continued, but it may prove a valuable clue. Rose Smith was staying in a small house with her friend, who was introduced to us as Helena. It was a pretty, country cottage, not the sort I would expect Miss Smith to be staying in. Im going for a walk, Helena announced shortly, as she picked up a raincoat and closed the door behind her. Good luck Rosie! So, Miss Smith, Holmes said, You wrote to me because you believe your life to be in danger. Why? Gosh, you do get to the point quickly, dont you? Miss Smith laughed nervously. Ill start from the beginning. I met Ed Mr Peterson, that is at a dance. He was there with a friend who happened to be a friend of a friend of a cousin of mine. So we were both at this party, and I must admit, it wasnt what lady Victoria would approve of. Shes dreadfully serious, you know! Very traditional. Oh shes a dear, but so interfering. Ed and I got talking and well, we fell in love. His mother threatened to disinherit him if we kept seeing each other, but then, quite out of the blue, she gives us another chance, and invites me to stay for a little while. He came to collect me from the station, and on the way back to the house, he proposed to me! Oh I was so happy, it was a dream comes true. But now it look like there wont be a wedding after all, she said, as she broke down in tears. I noticed on her forearm lay a large purple bruise as I reached my hand out to comfort her. Whats that? I asked suddenly. Oh nothing, she muttered. Let me tell you what happened when you received the letter from Edward Holmes began. So it was from him, she cried. Even as I wrote to you I hoped it was someone else. There are many names beginning with E Egbert, Emily, Ellie. Why him? I saw a sudden look come into Holmes eyes he knew whom the murderer was. I could tell by the excited glint the dark black pupils had taken on. One more thing, Miss Smith, Holmes said as he showed her the picture we had seen in the ladys room. Its Ed! she cried. Excellent! he said, as he left the room. Excellent. NOT FROM WATSONS NARRATIVE Tell me, Mr Peterson, did your mother spill her tea the day she died? Holmes asked. Why, yes, yes she did. And Rose gave her hers, I think. She doesnt like tea anyway. AFTERWARDS BY WATSON So how did you find out? I asked. I must admit, it had me fooled. Id never have guessed. Well, it was quite simple really Watson. The entire crime rotated around the stain. That one spill held the key to the entire murder. Once I knew who had spilt the cup, the whole mystery came together like a well-knitted scarf. But how? I know I must be terribly ignorant not to see, but how? You see, I know that Lady Peterson spilt the tea. Miss Smith then gave the Lady her mug, which she drank. Lady Peterson later died, and I think I can safely assume it was that mug that was poisoned. We therefore have two options. Either Miss Smith poisoned the tea or the tea was already poisoned when Miss Smith took it! You mean, Miss Smith was the intended victim! I do indeed, Holmes smiled. You see, one of the housemaids had entertained a liking for Edward Peterson for many years. She steals photos of him; she spends extra time tidying his quarters, and she is in fact, quite infatuated. So when Miss Smith appears, our admirer is jealous. Later, she hears her love proposing to this girl, and decides something must be done before her love marries this stranger. In the tea, she slips a strychnine tablet into one of the mugs. But then her plan fails. Instead of her hated rival taking the tea, her employer, the kindly woman who has the power to stop this marriage, dies. I sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, unable to speak. But why then, the flower, the letter? I asked. Our murderer has a somewhat romantic mind jealous women often do. She thinks miss smith is the perfect suspect. Miss smith, who happens to be named Rose. Hence the flower. A silly, girlish touch really. The clue does not point to Rose, but to someone who would be willing to spring the crime on her. Of course! I exclaimed. And the letter? Well that was simple, although I must admit I was nearly fooled. Who was the maid girl who served us our tea, Watson? Why, err, of course Ellie, I believe! Ellie Pierce, in fact! the genius pointed out. Our mystery EP! Brilliant, I really dont know how you do it, Holmes. Brilliant! Elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary! 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Violence, Terrorism, and the Interactions between Cultures Essay

Violence, Terrorism, and the Interactions between Cultures When humans from different cultures interact, the result is often bloodshed, domination and disease. Also, without exception, the exchange of ideas gradually occurs. All of these factors have shaped the course of history. While much of the spread of disease has been reduced since the Black Death, much bloodshed still comes from the interaction of cultures, possibly from physical contact without intellectual or rational interaction and understanding. Interaction itself is necessary and does result in good as well, especially in terms of technological advancements. The spread of disease is possibly one of the most dramatic results of interactions between cultures. The different ways of living in Europe and other parts of the world caused very different illnesses to develop in each. Europeans lived in close quarters in densely populated cities, which allowed crowd diseases, such as measles, to develop. These diseases quickly result in death, or recovery and immunity. Thus, they do not remain relevant in smaller communities; by the time victims have recovered fully, the disease is not around to be spread. In larger communities, the disease can shift from area to area, remaining in existence until there are babies to be infected in the original area. (Diamond) A leading theory maintains that these diseases developed from animal diseases that adapted to the environment of the human body when humans and animals were in close contact. In particular measles and smallpox came from cattle, and the flu came from pigs and ducks. (Diamond) Because this con tact with animals, the close contact with thousands of other humans in cities, and the connection of populations by trade, a... ...p. 1-35. Cipolla, Carlo M., Epilog from "Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700" Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 132-148. Diamond, Jared, "Ch. 11: Lethal gift of livestock," in "Guns, Germs, and Steel" W.W. Norton & Co, 1997, ISBN 0-393-03891-2, pp. 195-214 Ponting, Clive. Ch.11 from "A Green History of the World," St. Martins Press, NYC, 1991, pp. 224-239. Pursell, Carroll W. Jr., Ch. 1 and 2 in "Early Stationary Steam Engines in America: a study in the migration of a technology" Smithsonian Inst. Press, 1969, pp. 1-27. Schneider, Jane. Rumpelstilskin's Bargain: Folklore and the Merchant Capitalist Intensification of Linen Manufacture in Early Modern Europe. In Cloth and Human Experience, edited by Annette B. Weiner and Jane Schneider. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

The Opening Scene of Macbeth Sets the Mood of the Whole Play-Discuss

Macduff (Macbeth) 1 Macduff (Macbeth) Macduff (Macbeth) Dan O'Herlihy as Macduff in Orson Welles' controversial film adaptation Macbeth (1948) Creator William Shakespeare Play Date Source Family Macbeth c. 1603-1607 Holinshed's Chronicles (1587) Lady Macduff, wife Son, (name unknown) Antagonist to Macbeth; kills him in the final act. Despair thy charm / And let the angel whom thou has served / Tell thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped (5. 10. 14-16) Role Quote Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth (c. 603-1607). Macduff plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He is the main antagonist, yet the hero, in the play. The character is first known from Chronica Gentis Scotorum (late 14th century) and Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland (early 15th century). Shakespeare drew mostly from Holinshed's Chronicles (1587). Although characterized sporadically through out the play, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth, a figure of morality, and an instrument to the play’s desired excision of femininity. OriginThe overall plot that would serve as the basis for Macbeth is first seen in the writings of two chroniclers of Scottish history, John of Fordun, whose prose Chronica Gentis Scotorum was begun about 1363 and Andrew of Wyntoun's Scots verse Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, written no earlier than 1420. These served as the basis for the account given in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), on whose narratives of King Duff and King Duncan Shakespeare in part based Macbeth. Macduff first appears in Holinshed's narrative of King Duncan after Macbeth has killed the monarch and reigned as King of Scotland for 10 years.When Macbeth calls upon his nobles to contribute to the construction of Dunsinane castle, Macduff avoids the summons, arousing Macbeth's suspicions. Macduff leaves Scotland for England to prod Duncan's son, Malcolm, into taking the Scot tish throne by force. Meanwhile, Macbeth murders Macduff's family. Malcolm, Macduff, and the English forces march on Macbeth, and Macduff kills him. [1] Shakespeare follows Holinshed's account of Macduff closely, with his only deviations being Macduff's discovery of Duncan's body in 2. 3, and Macduff's brief conference with Ross in 2. 4.Historically, the Clan MacDuff was the most powerful family in Fife in the medieval ages. [2] The ruins of Macduff's Castle lie in East Wemyss cemetery. Role in the play Macduff first speaks in the play in 2. 3 when he discovers the corpse of King Duncan in Macbeth’s castle. He raises an alarm, informing the castle that the king has been murdered. Macduff begins to suspect Macbeth of regicide when Macbeth says, â€Å"O, yet I do repent me of my fury / That I did kill them† (2. 3. 103-104). Interestingly, Macduff’s name does not appear in this scene; rather, Banquo refers to him as â€Å"Dear Duff† (2. 3. 75). In 2. Macbeth has left for Scone, the ancient royal city where Scottish kings were crowned. Macduff, meanwhile, meets with Ross and an Old Man. He reveals that he will not be attending the coronation of Macbeth and will instead return to his home in Fife. However, Macduff flees to England to join Malcolm, the slain King Duncan’s elder son, and convinces him to return Macduff (Macbeth) to Scotland and claim the throne. Macbeth, meanwhile, visits the Three Witches again after the spectre of Banquo appears at the royal banquet. The Witches warn Macbeth to â€Å"beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife† (4. 1. 87-88).Furthermore, they inform him that, â€Å"The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth† (4. 1. 96-97). Macbeth, fearing for his position as King of Scotland, orders the deaths of Macduff's wife, children and relatives. Macduff, who is still in England, learns of his family’s deaths through Ross, another Scottish thane. He joins Malcolm, and th ey return to Scotland with their English allies to face Macbeth at Dunsinane Castle. After Macbeth slays the young Siward, Macduff confronts Macbeth. Although Macbeth believes that he cannot be killed by any man born of a woman, he soon learns that Macduff was â€Å"from his mother’s womb /Untimely ripped† (5. 10. 15-16). The two fight, and Macduff slays Macbeth offstage. Macduff ultimately presents Macbeth’s head to Malcolm, hailing him as king and calling on the other thanes to declare their allegiance with him (5. 11. 20-25). 2 Analysis Macduff as a foil to Macbeth As a supporting character, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth; his integrity directly contrasts with Macbeth’s moral perversion. [3] In an exchange between the Scottish thane Lennox and another lord, Lennox talks of Macduff’s flight to England and refers to him as â€Å"some holy angel† (3. 6. 6) who â€Å"may soon return to this our suffering country / Under a hand accursedà ¢â‚¬  (3. 6. 48-49). The play positions the characters of Macduff and Macbeth as holy versus evil. The contrast between Macduff and Macbeth is accentuated by their approaches to death. Macduff, hearing of his family’s death, reacts with a tortured grief. His words, â€Å"But I must also feel it as a man† (4. 3. 223), indicate a capacity for emotional sensitivity. While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth insist that manhood implies a denial of feeling (1. 7. 45-57), Macduff insists that emotional depth and sensitivity are part of what it means to be a man.This interpretation is supported by Macduff’s reaction upon his discovery of Duncan’s corpse and the echo of Macduff’s words when Macbeth responds to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death. Macduff struggles to find the words to express his rage and anguish, crying, â€Å"O horror, horror, horror† (2. 3. 59). In some stage interpretations, Macduff’s character transitions from a state of shock to one of frenzied alarm. [4] This contrasts starkly with Macbeth’s famous response to the announcement of his wife’s death: â€Å"She should have died hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word / Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow† (5. . 17-19). Macbeth’s words seem to express a brutal indifference–she would have died anyway–and perhaps even suggest that he has lost the capacity to feel. Macduff as a moral figure Although Macduff comes to represent a type of â€Å"goodness† in the dark world of Macbeth, Shakespeare also allows for some instability in his character. This becomes most evident in 4. 3 when Macduff joins Malcolm in England. In this scene, the play has moved from the tumult in Scotland to England. In the exchange between the two Scotsmen, Malcolm is clearly in control and forces Macduff to examine and reconcile with himself his own moral code.In a moment of dramatic irony, Macduff begins the conversation urging Malcolm to fight for Scotland rather than to grieve, not knowing that Malcolm has already arranged for English military support (4. 3. 134-136). Malcolm manipulates Macduff, questioning his loyalty, facilitating his emotional responses, and testing to see how much Macduff’s, and perhaps the audience’s, morality can ultimately be compromised. Malcolm portrays Macbeth as a tyrant, but he positions himself, too, as someone morally repulsive. [4] He describes his own voluptuousness–the bottomless â€Å"cistern of [his] lust† (4. 3. 4)–and â€Å"staunchless avarice† (4. 3. 79). Macduff must decide whether he can accept Malcolm as an alternative to Macbeth. He does not give this answer until the final scene, addressing Malcolm, â€Å"Hail King† (5. 6. 20). By this point, however, Malcolm has â€Å"abjure[d] / The taints and blames I laid upon myself, / For strangers to my nature†(4. 3. 125-127). This shows that rather than spe aking truthfully about himself, Malcolm was simply testing Macduff to see where Macduff's loyalties were. Therefore, Macduff is right in accepting Malcolm Macduff (Macbeth) as king. Macduff may also be read as a precursor for ethical philosophy. 5] Macduff's flight from Scotland is a â€Å"spiritual reawakening†, with spirituality based around the truth, regardless of what it may be. Macduff constantly reexamines his values. In deciding to leave his family, Macduff deserts those values and pays bitterly for it. Macduff echoes sentiments of writers such as Plato and the later Thomas Hobbes, who claim that morality may only be judged to the extent that a person takes responsibility for his or her actions. Thus, because he accepts the burden of his decision to leave his family for political exploration, Macduff's actions can be justified. [5] 3 Macbeth and the fantasy of female powerOne of the themes that the play Macbeth wrestles with is the relationship between male vulnerabil ity and feminine influence. The play explores the fantasy of a female or maternal power as well as the desire of an escape from this influence. [6] Femaleness is to be feared and reviled, and to a certain extent, the play works to excise femininity and restore autonomous male or paternal power. However, the play also exposes the impossibility of the fantasy of absolute masculinity. After Macbeth derives much of his motivation from the Witches’ perceived promise of invincibility: that no man born of woman can kill him.He interprets the prophecy to mean he is untainted by femininity, as if femininity were the source of vulnerability. [6] Macbeth believes in his own invulnerability, claiming, â€Å"I bear a charmed life, which must not yield / To one of woman born† (Act V, scene 8). However, Macduff, born via caesarian section, exposes this fantasy as a fallacy. He replies to Macbeth: â€Å"Despair thy charm, / And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee, M acduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped† (Act V, scene 8).Though he may not have been of a woman born in the conventional sense (thus fulfilling the prophecy), Macduff ultimately originates from woman, asserting that he was â€Å"from his mother’s womb. † If, as Macbeth believes, true manhood cannot derive from or be tainted by femininity, then Macduff’s very existence fundamentally counters this idea. References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Bevington, David and William Shakespeare. Four Tragedies Bantam, 1988. Official Scottish Clans and Families (http:/ / www. electricscotland. com). Horwich, Richard. â€Å"Integrity in Macbeth: The Search for the ‘Single State of Man. † Rosenberg, Marvin. The Masks of Macbeth. University of California Press, 1978. Hennedy, John F. â€Å"Macduff's Dilemma: Anticipation of Existentialist Ethics in Macbeth. † Adelman, Janet. â€Å"Escaping the Matrix: The Construction of Masculinity in Ma cbeth and Coriolanus. † Suffocating mothers: fantasies of maternal origin in Shakespeare's plays. Routledge, 1992. External links †¢ Macbeth: Folio Version (http://internetshakespeare. uvic. ca/Annex/Texts/Mac/F1/Work) †¢ Macbeth: Full-text online (http://shakespeare. mit. edu/macbeth/full. html) Article Sources and Contributors 4 Article Sources and ContributorsMacduff (Macbeth)   Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? oldid=542149214   Contributors: 2A01:388:201:3030:E4B5:F56E:CE1B:5242, Agricolae, Akira625, Alansohn, Alex2706, Andrei Iosifovich, Andrew Hampe, Ashton1983, Australian Matt, Benjamin Geiger, Bucklesman, Byron Farrow, Cntras, David Gerard, Deskford, Dwanyewest, Escape Orbit, Finavon, Fitnr, Focus, Girlwithgreeneyes, Huw Powell, IllaZilla, ItsLassieTime, John of Lancaster, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, KGasso, Kabartlett, Kierant, Kyaa the Catlord, Lentower, Lordrosemount, Luki9875, MarnetteD, Mhardcastle, Mhockey, Monkeyzpop, Nashikawa, NatureA 16, Omarworld87, P.S. Burton, PC78, Paul Bedson, Pegship, Philip Trueman, Pjweller, Poeloq, Red-eyed demon, Roregan, SAGE01, Saga City, Smalljim, Speedevil, Stefanomione, Stephenb, Steven Zhang, ThinkBlue, Tiria, Tommy2010, Treybien, UltimateCoach, Wangyingyun, Warofdreams, Woohookitty, Wrad, Xover, 115 anonymous edits License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3. 0 Unported //creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/3. 0/

Edward Teller and the Hydrogen Bomb

What we should have learned is that the world is small, that peace is important and that cooperation in science... could contribute to peace. Nuclear weapons, in a peaceful world, will have a limited importance. -Edward Teller in CNN interview Significance of Edward Teller Theoretical physicist Edward Teller is  often referred to as the Father of the H-Bomb. He was part of a group of scientists who invented the atomic bomb as part of the  U.S. government-led  Manhattan Project. He was also the co-founder of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where together with Ernest Lawrence, Luis Alvarez, and others, he invented the hydrogen bomb in 1951. Teller spent most of the 1960s working to  keep the United States ahead of the Soviet Union in the nuclear arms race. Tellers Education and Contributions Teller was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1908. He earned a degree in chemical engineering at the Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany and received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Leipzig. His doctoral thesis was on the hydrogen molecular ion, the foundation for the theory of molecular orbitals that remains  accepted to this day. Although his early training was in chemical physics and spectroscopy, Teller also made substantial contributions to diverse fields such as nuclear physics, plasma physics, astrophysics, and statistical mechanics. The Atomic Bomb It was Edward Teller who drove Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner to meet with Albert Einstein, who together would write a letter to President Roosevelt urging him to pursue atomic weapons research before the Nazis did. Teller worked on the Manhattan Project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and later became the labs assistant director. This led to the invention of the atomic bomb in 1945. The Hydrogen Bomb In 1951, while still at Los Alamos, Teller came up with  the idea for a thermonuclear weapon. Teller was more determined than ever to push for its development after the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb in 1949. This was a major reason why he was determined to lead the successful development and testing of the first hydrogen bomb. In 1952, Ernest Lawrence and Teller opened the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was the associate director from 1954 to 1958 and 1960 to 1965. He was its director from 1958 to 1960. For the next 50  years, Teller did his research at the Livermore National Laboratory, and between 1956 and 1960 he proposed and developed thermonuclear warheads small and light enough to be carried on submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Awards Teller published more than a dozen books on subjects ranging from energy policy to defense issues and was awarded 23 honorary degrees. He received numerous awards for his contributions to physics and public life. Two months before his death in 2003, Edward Teller was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nations highest civil honor—during a special ceremony conducted by President George W. Bush at the White House.