Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere Book Review

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere Book Review In Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana, Armani Curtis, a young African-American girl living in the Ninth Ward district of New Orleans, is completely uprooted from her world when Hurricane Katrina rips through her neighborhood. In her search to be reunited with family members, she discovers personal strengths and the real meaning of community. The publisher lists the book for ages 10 and older. Summary of the Story Its late August 2005 and 9-year-old Armani Curtis, looking forward to her birthday weekend, cannot wait to join the double digits club. Nothing, not even the persistent rumors of a storm, can burst Armani’s excitement until she notices her parents’ apprehension. Focusing on her celebration, Armani is disappointed when the other members of her family, including her beloved MeMaw, seem preoccupied with threats of a dangerous storm. When her older brother Georgie tells her the next door neighbors are evacuating, she makes him promise not to tell her parents until after her birthday. Despite their worries and a stormy black sky, Armani’s parents celebrate her tenth birthday with a Bar-B-Q, a delicious buttercream cake with blue frosting, and a brand new puppy which she promptly names Cricket. The celebration is cut short when a neighbor bursts into the backyard telling everyone it’s too late to evacuate and to prepare for a major storm.   Powerful winds begin to blow shattering windows and panic ensue when Georgie notices a rapidly approaching wave of water rolling over everything in its path and heading towards their home. The levee protecting their Ninth Ward neighborhood has broken and there is nowhere to go. The family flees to the attic to save their lives, but their nightmare is just beginning. Trapped in the attic with the floodwaters rising, Armani’s asthmatic baby brother is gasping for air while there are only a few bottles of water between them.  Their crisis grows more distressing as Armani’s brother and then her father, jump into the fast-moving floodwater to capture her birthday puppy. Stranded, the family of refugees must wait for rescue while worrying about the outcome of those family members who jumped into the water. Once on dry land, Armani is left to watch over the younger kids while her mom searches desperately for a clinic to help the sickly baby. Armani realizes it is up to her to keep her small group together amidst the crisis around her. In the process, she discovers how to trust, how to survive, and how to nurture hope in the face of great despair. Author Julie T. Lamana Julie Lamana knows first-hand the destruction brought on by Hurricane Katrina. In 2005 Lamana worked as a literacy aide in a Louisiana school. In the aftermath of the hurricane, she helped displaced children and found in her experiences the seeds to write a story. As a child growing up in a military family, Lamana moved many times and found it difficult to create lasting relationships and thus found comfort in books. Now retired from education, she spends her time writing and is currently at work on her next middle-grade book. Lamana and her family Lamana live in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana.   Recommendation and Review For readers who like survival stories, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere is a fearsome read. Real life scenarios based on Julie Lamana’s personal experiences dealing with Hurricane Katrina create the story foundation for those uncertain first few days in the Ninth Ward district of New Orleans, Louisiana.  These experiences provided material for an authentic, emotional story for readers who value accurate detail and realistic characters. The character of Armani Curtis transforms from a self-centered, judgmental child, to a conscientious young girl who learns to accept and trust others. Despite many warnings of the approaching storm, Armani is determined to not let anything take away from her special occasion. Lamana deliberately highlights Armani’s self-centered character (pretty typical of her age) so readers can clearly identify the great emotional changes the hurricane brings about forcing Armani to put aside her childish ways in order to make independent and protective decisions about her younger siblings. Within a matter of days, Armani’s childhood vanishes.  Fear and distrust color her every action, but over time Armani begins to allow others to help her rebuild trust. Like a gathering storm, this story starts out at a leisurely pace gradually building in intensity. A typical day of riding the bus, dealing with bullies, and sitting on the front porch swing with her beloved MeMaw slowly moves into whispered rumors of a gathering storm. Television newscasts, neighbors’ midnight evacuations, and an ever-changing colorful sky take Armani and her family from a birthday celebration to a fight for survival.   A Gentle Warning for Parents Julie Lamana has personal experience with Hurricane Katrina and she witnessed the devastating physical, social, and mental effects of the hurricane. Hence, she gives readers an authentic story where a very young girl must deal with death, disease, and despair. While not graphic in detail, there is no sugarcoating about the dead bodies floating in the water, the mass looting, or desperate â€Å"crazies† that Armani meets as she struggles to make sense of the chaos around her. A worthy book to understand how a natural disaster affects a community and a family, I highly recommend Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere. Be sure to have a box of tissues close by. (Chronicle Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781452124568)

ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis

ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis ABA or Applied Behavior Analysis is a time tested and data-based strategy for teaching children with disabilities. It is most often used with children with autistic spectrum disorders but is an effective tool for children with behavioral disorders, multiple disabilities, and severe intellectual handicaps. It is the only treatment for Autistic Spectrum disorders approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration.) ABA is based on the work of B.F. Skinner, also known as the father of Behaviorism.   Behaviorism is a scientific means of understanding behavior.   Known as the three-term contingency, behavior is stimulus, response, and reinforcement.   It is also understood as Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence, or ABC.   The ABCs of ABA The antecedent is what happens before the behavior, and may or may not have a causal relationship.  The behavior is what the subject does:   we try to operationalize the behavior, or find a way to objectively describe the behavior.   We would not say Jimmy was disrespectful, we would say Jimmy shouted at the teacher and called her an inappropriate racially charged term.  Finally, the consequence, or what happens after the behavior.   It is usually here that we look for the reinforcement: in other words, what Jimmy gets out of calling the teacher that bad name.   Is it attention from his peers?   Is it being sent to the office so he misses the spelling test?   Another scientist who significantly credited with developing ABA was Ivar Lovaas, a psychologist at the University of California Los Angeles.   His seminal work in applying behaviorism to children significantly disabled with autism led to what we now call ABA.   For many people, behaviorism seems overly mechanistic.   Human beings are value and meaning assigning creatures, and we would like to believe that there is some powerful underlying mystic about behaviorhence Freudianism.   Although it may seem simplistic, behaviorism may be the best way to strip away all our cultural prejudices and see behaviors as they are.   This is especially helpful with children with autism, who have difficulty with communication, appropriate social interaction, and language.   Moving to the three-term contingency helps us evaluate what we really see when we see a behavior.   So Jimmy tantrums?   What is the antecedent?   Does it cause it?   What does the behavior look like?   And finally, what happens when Jimmy tantrums?   ABA has proven to be an effective means to support appropriate social, functional and even academic behavior.   A special form of ABA, known as VBA or Verbal Behavioral Analysis, applies the tenets of ABA to language; hence Verbal Behavior. The BACB, or Behavior Analyst Certification Board, is the international organization that certifies professionals who design and create the therapies that are used, especially what are called Discrete Trials.   Discrete trials involve the stimulus, response, reinforcement three-term contingency mentioned above. The BACB also maintains a roster of local BCBAs who can provide services to children with autism. Also Known As: VBA, Lovaas

PSYCHOLOGY Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PSYCHOLOGY - Research Paper Example In order to execute such paradigms, numerous psychological theories have been devised to classify humans under diverse patterns and syndromes. An understanding of the psychology enables one to eradicate various therapeutic problems. Thus, psychology is not confined to any core study but it encompasses a complete understanding about the nature and the conditions under which a person was nurtured. In the article "The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of personality disorders: A meta-analysis", the authors have conducted a meta-analysis to highlight the impact of psychodynamic therapy, as well as cognitive behavior therapy to treat personality disorders. Although the article does not include heredity and environment, the authors have used psychoanalytical perspectives and rely on the scientific findings, but fail to explain several important issues which are discussed here. However, any activity that affects the performance or behavio r of an individual is designated as behavior or mental process. The article does not specify the aspects of mental processes which are associated with different cognitive operations essential in learning process and in procuring knowledge, reasoning, memory, learning skills, perception, outlook, concentration, skill to be alert and attentive, language skills, communication, thoughts, aptitude, emotions, decision making and problem solving skills ("What is cognitive psychology?"). Although the article addresses the psychologists and explains the intricacies associated with the understanding of mental and behavior processes, it fails in being considerate towards brain functioning, communication, interpersonal predispositions, motivation and social behavior together with the physiological and neurological predilections. The article does not consider developmental aspects which play an imperative role in the process of nurture and formation of nature/temperament ("A rational model of th e effects of distributional information on feature learning"). One of the key features in psychology is cognitive studies, an assessment of mental processes. The psychologist must understand the attitude as well as propensity of the patient to deal with the personality disorders. The article lacks in emphasizing upon the cognitive understanding and, hence, the mental process, alteration of which is responsible for personality disorders. Evidently, as an individual matures, perception and understanding about the circumstances and situations also expands. Some may have the intellect to understand others, learn about their nature and circumstances, and react to the event in more pleasing manner, while others tend to be short tempered and reactionary towards a situation and display rage and anguish. These psychological aspects are not well defined in the article to implement the cognitive behavior therapy for personality disorder ("What is Cognitive Psychology?"). In the present scenari o where the competition is hard-hitting and individuals are chip in a career race, an approach is desired where judgmental move toward attitude could be worked well. One has to be critical in displaying cognitive behavior, enhanced memory power, quick as well as appropriate decision making temperament, and organization of educational program to boost learning power in order to prove their worth. A

Discuss the argument that the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 19th Essay

Discuss the argument that the Irish Potato Famine of the mid 19th Centurry was an act of Genocide carried out by the British Empire as a means of religous and c - Essay Example This was only in a time period between 1845 and 1852. Although the famine was caused by the bacteria phytophthora infestans, it had various social political dimensions. Even though most of the damage was done on crops, the damage that was caused on the Irish population remains to be some of the most memorable events in the Irish people. The great famine still remains a major topic of debate in the life of the people. The scar of the famine remains in the minds of most Irish people more that one century later. It still remains to spark memories of the suffering and agony that the people of Ireland had to go thro ugh in the hands of their masters who were the Britons. It still remains them of the long walk to acquire their current social status and equity to the Britons. But the role that was played by this great famine in shaping the identity of the Irish people is still evident even today through the imprint shown by the modern consciousness which equate horror of famine devastation with other tragedies that continue to occur in the developing world. This is because the nature of the Irish nation dependant on the foreign nations was the sole cause of the devastation since the foreign nation had the power to manipulate the famine and control the nation. This is the same fate that holds the developing nation to the control of the foreign nation. (Bluett, 2004) In this case the Irish people dependant and exploitation by Britain can be directly attributed to the devastating effects of the famine. Their reliance on the British government was the main factor that led to their exploitation. There is evident of hidden agenda in the way Britain foreign relief was used to mask the indirect cultural and religious cleansing that was being carried out on Irish people at the time. The only alternative that the Irish people had was either to live as slave or

Senior High School English Teachers’ Roles Under the New English Curriculum Essay Example for Free

Senior High School English Teachers’ Roles Under the New English Curriculum Essay He teaches in the society in accordance with his special responsibilities he takes and with the roles he plays. Therefore he is required to be quite sensitive to its expectations and perform rightly and appropriately with his due roles and to change his role rightly and timely with the development of the society and with the changes of his specific responsibility he takes. The educational reform in China requires the study of teacher’s roles. The reform of senior high school education in China at present has been leading to a radical change of educational beliefs which are certain to demand a great change of teacher’s roles. In China, the reform of senior high school education has widely aroused peoples attention. In order to promote the implementation of the new curriculum, experts and researchers of teaching have begun their study of changing teaching methods. Therefore, this thesis dedicates to the research of how the senior high school English teachers today should change their role under the condition of the New Curriculum, and hopes to bring up some new ways apt in teaching. 2 The significance of New Curriculum 2. Embodiment of the Essence of Education The course of education is a course of ideality. Its essence is to strengthen the spiritual power of human beings. Plato wrote in his most famous book Utopia the true notion of education through a metaphor told by Socrates: The â€Å"True Education† is to guide people, its soul, and spirit to reach an authentic world, from darkness to brightness, from an opinion-based world to a truth-based world (Socrates 129). This guidance of spirit is in f act the guidance of one’s living. Knowledge and skills are the ladders by which the soul could climb to a higher level. Our ancient classical book The Great Learning penetrates so straight to the point that â€Å"The way of achieving great learning started with one person’s knowing of the morality, carrying on by performing nice to the other people, and having the goodness in one’s heart. † ( 15). The purpose of learning is to reveal the morality in one’s heart, to make a fresh start of one’s life, and to keep a person’s mind in the stage of best morality. Apparently, in modern or ancient times, in China or elsewhere, almost all the great masters of education believed that the essence of education is to perfect the spiritual world of human beings. And the Curriculum standards must be responsible for the developing and growing of students. In the examination-oriented education system, a student is no more than a container of text-book knowledge. The duty and responsibility of a student is to process knowledge no matter how much it actually relates to reality. The actual use value of the knowledge has been ignored; the activeness of the students has been killed. Paper mark is an evaluation tool for every thing. The Ma Jiajue event of a school boy murdering his three roommates made us feel chilling and begin altering. May I ask how this type of students could have a positive attitude towards the challenges in society? How could they cooperate with people and pursuit a further development?! There is an old Chinese saying â€Å"To teach a student six years, a teacher must foresee his sixty years of life. This is the social responsibility of a teacher. To educate students, a teacher must not only make them masters of the textbook knowledge, but also masters of the method and strategies of learning. A teacher would form a positive mental attitude and active desire of the students and guide them enjoying the happiness through the pursuit of success, build up the student’s sense of accomplishment, and make it the motivation of making prog ress. New curriculum standards proposed a â€Å"tool† (an effective tool for high school English teacher to guide the students) and â€Å"humanism† (the new curriculum put humanism as its core) is the unification of the basic characteristics of English courses. The purpose of the study by English students is to improve the English literacy and lifelong learning for students and lay the foundation for the development of personality. Here, â€Å"exploring ability† and â€Å"personality development† received full attention. And the ability to understand and get to the point of the curriculum integration, appreciation, nderstanding, development, innovation has become a real purpose. Evidently, the new course is surprising, it really practices a â€Å"people-oriented† concept of education, reflects the nature of the education. 2. 2 Reflection of the Policy of Education The New Curriculum reflects the actual need to fully carry out the guiding principle on educ ation. We should establish accurate values on education and fully carry out the guiding principle on education in order to bring up quality talents of a new era. The values on education of a lower gradation are to educate individuals and pay too much attention to the chase of making a living or angling for material profits and prestige, but to neglect or depreciate the values of a deeper gradation formed by a full development of individual characteristics and magnificent states of mind. As the human being itself has a potential of many-sided development, the mission of education is to turn the students potentials into developing reality. Its not only the fundamental concept of democracy but the basic right of every student that all of them could develop themselves. The principle to evaluate the standard of lessons reflects two Faces-firstly, face the fully rise of students qualities and secondly, face the entire group of students. This kind of education can make every student develop himself more completely, which is stipulated by the guiding principle on education and also the intrinsic reflection of carrying out ability oriented education. 3 Suggestions on Senior High School English Teaching During a live observation on English teaching in senior high school, it seems common that the teaching materials are making use of teachers, rather than the teachers are using teaching materials. Needless to say, this phenomenon will definitely affect the quality of English teaching in senior high school and as a result, were not able to achieve the goal of English learning which is brought up by ability oriented education. What should senior high school English teachers do to deal with this phenomenon? 3. 1 New Educational Concepts as the Guidance The new education concept refers to the changing from giving undue mphasis to English language techniques into paying close attention to the development of students entire personality and cultivating their positive attitudes as well as encouraging them to learn how to get information and use it creatively. While in the process of senior high school English teaching, the English teachers should transfer from purely emphasizing instructing s tudents in the complex, troublesome and dull English knowledge in books, into providing basic and various information connected with real life for the students, in order to widen their field of view and make English study more effective and interesting. While talking about the manner of the senior high school English teacher, the new concept requires the teachers changing from teaching knowledge of isolated courses into connecting different but related courses with each other and encouraging students to study by experience, investigation and introspection. With respect to the senior high school English teaching evaluation, the new concept suggests the education transferring from emphasizing distinguishing good from bad, selection in contest, demarcating ranks, etc. nto promoting every students improvement of capability and respecting the diversity of personalities and levels of understanding, so as to help them all gain the feeling of success. And with respect to aspect of the relationship between teachers and students, the new concept suggests the shifting from centering on teachers into considering students main, seeking the equal conversation between teachers and students and joint improvement in interaction. 3. 2 Renewal of the Education Capacity The English teaching ability refers to the English teachers structure of knowledge and ability and they should not only have basic knowledge and ability of English language, but also multiple elements consisting of education, psychology, management, art of literature, philosophy and so on, which will make a composite effect. Owing to this composite effect combined with knowledge of various courses, the senior high school English teachers should renew his/her education capacity. He/she should not only make creative use of new teaching materials, organize fully directed English teaching contents and instruct students lessons effectively according to the education principle. He/she should teach according to ones ability. Whats more, they should inspire the students motivation of learning to the full extent and ensure their healthy study in order to achieve the final goal of cultivating the students ability to learn throughout their life. 3. 3 Building-up of the Self-development Approach Teachers arent able to renew knowledge, learn throughout their life and search for self-development. Through lack of approaches to development subjectively, as well as objective reasons such as busy work of teaching or a heavy burden of housework, some teachers have to live on their own limited fat gained in school and without doubts, its difficult for them to adapt to the continuous development of the situation of educational reform. A number of senior high school teachers complain about the new edition text-book and the general requirement of the new curriculum. They used to teach in a traditional way. They as well feel indifferent to the new material in the textbook and don’t know how to teach it to the students. In order to make full use of the new teaching material and raise the quality of English education, theres no doubt that firstly we should establish a new modern educational concept. 4 New Classroom Roles of Senior High School English Teachers What roles should the 21st century senior high school English teachers have? The society informationization and knowledge economy development of the 21st century propose our education on the intense transformation request; the traditional way of study is transformed to the innovative study. This request the teachers to change from the traditional 40-minute teaching role to the shepherd, the organizer, the participant during the educational process, the teacher must have bigger compatibility and flexibility. With the social development today, the science and technology developed rapidly, the computer and the information technology also have a widespread application in teaching. The relationship between the teachers and students is already not completely the simple transmission and acceptance pattern, sometimes the student may acquire knowledge from other channels, they even know in certain aspects comparable more than some teachers do. Teachers authoritative status has been threatened; the teacher and students relation becomes more and more complicated. The teachers role also multiplies. Having the ability to form the fine personality and the multiplex knowledge tructure of the students, and mastering many skills while specializing in one are requirement for teachers today. The teacher must have rich knowledge and many kinds of abilities. Moreover, it is also the duty of a teacher to form the students’ spiritual world, fills the instructive and the creative essence. In the modern society, the teacher has not only changed with the traditional performers basic function, but also has to transmit the experience directly. The students must participant the learning activity. The teacher must guide the students to explore in the environment which he carefully designs. The teacher is no longer a pure transmitter, but also students’ companions, activity organizer, the supporter and helper in the process of students’ learning activity. I will discuss the teachers role mainly in the following part. 4. 1 Teacher as Organizer As is said by Doll, an American expert in education, the teachers status in the relationship between teachers and students is â€Å"a chief in equality† (Doll 191). This conversion requires teachers to step down from the altar filled with â€Å"teachers respect†. And the teachers ought to interact and explore with the students standing on the same flat and help them grow up, mature and become worthful. To organize means to form into a whole with mutually connected and dependent parts. The success of many activities depends on good organization and on the students knowing exactly what they are to do. To be an organizer, senior high school English teachers have to organize the activities and teaching stages successfully in the classroom. Teachers organizing of the class roughly includes two parts— psychological organization and the organization of activity. The central idea of psychological organization is to stimuli students motivation. The main aim of the teacher when he organizing an activity is to tell the students what they are going to talk about, and to give clear instructions about what exactly their task is, get the activity going, and then organize feedback when it is over. For example, for the topic discussion, the teacher can assign students to groups. Jeremy Harmer (1983) noted that the organization of an activity can be divided into three main parts. First the teacher gives a lead-in. Like the lead-in for presentation or for the treatment of receptive skills this will probably take the form of an introduction to the subject. In senior high school English classrooms, teachers can tell students what they are going to talk about during this period. The teacher and students may briefly discuss the topic in order to start thinking about it. He/She should give clear instructions. When the lead-in stage has been accomplished the teacher instructs. This is where he explains exactly what the students should do. Finally the teacher initiates the activity, which is to get the activities going. He gives a final check that students have understood. So the teachers job is to organize the activity as efficiently as possible, frequently checking that the students have understood. Once the activity has started the teacher will not intervene unless it is quite necessary for gentle correction or promptness. During the first year of teaching senior high school English, role play helps the students to use the language flexibly. While students play their roles on their own, the teacher may walk around the classroom to listen to their talks. When necessary, the teacher can also give guidance and advice. After role play, the teacher can ask students to perform in class, and then make comments on their work. 4. 2 Teacher as Guide As is said by ancient people, Teachers are the people who spread logic, teach lessons and solve confusion. The new standard of lessons requires a conversion from â€Å"teaching lessons† to guiding the students to participate in English activities actively, think by themselves and cooperate in investigation, which aims to develop the students abilities to gather and cope with information in English, to gain new knowledge, to analyse and solve problems and to communicate and cooperate. The basic requirements of a teacher as a guide are as follows: 1) To help students to set up right and feasible goal, both long and short term. Once the short goal within the long-term goal is reached, students may be filled up with happiness of success which further motivates them forward. 2) To make classroom activities interesting and meet the needs of the students. The teacher can present language in meaningful contexts, elicit language from students, make instructions clear to everyone by using a variety of techniques (cards, texts, ICT, open questions), manage pairs and groups to maximize practice, monitor individuals and groups, stand back and view the whole class, try to meet the needs of all irrespective of gender or ability, praise warmly, correct when appropriate, confirm and welcome good use of the target anguage, smile and enjoy their job, with general qualities of sensitivity, flexibility, humor, enthusiasm and stamina (similar to those required by the average parent). Moreover its particularly important to separate the role of the motivator from the role of the expert. Teachers often easily play the role of expert often; hence miss the chance to motivate their students. 4. 3 Teacher as Participant To be a participant means that a teacher may take part in the classroom activities. A teacher might join simulations as a participant. However, the teacher should be careful not to dominate, although the students will both allow and expect this to happen. Instead of being the dominating authority in the classroom, the teacher facilitates the communicative process among all the learners and between the students and the various tasks, giving guidance and advice when necessary. Furthermore, teachers may act as independent participants within the learning-teaching group. Any unnecessary intervention on the teachers part may prevent learners from becoming genuinely involved in the activities and thus hinder the development of their communicative skills. Once a teaching activity is in progress, it is still the teachers obligation to develop the students potential through external direction. Although the teacher may be nondirective in general, it is still the teachers responsibility to recognize the distinctive qualities in the students (Han 1979) and to help the students develop those qualities. In senior high school English class, in different settings, students may be asked to attend different activities. Teacher should not be afraid to attend these activities. It can improve the atmosphere in the class. For example, when students talk about current events, students are willing to listen to different peoples opinions on the topic. Sometimes when the whole class takes part in a debate, teachers can also act as a chairperson, or offer students help when it is needed. 4. 4 Teacher as Trainer We used to say that the teachers should have a bucket of water in order to give the students a glass of water. However, this idea should also be changed, which demands the teachers not to limit themselves to knowledge and experience in their mind, but according to the demands of the students, to choose and exploit English teaching resources, design and launch kinds of English teaching activities, open up the room for teaching, guide the lessons into a larger range, strengthen the relation between the English language learning and social life reality. In short, the teachers should help the students to carve out the source of knowledge. As strategy trainers, the teachers describe, model, and give examples of potentially useful strategies; they elicit additional examples from students based on the students own learning experiences; they lead small group or whole class discussions about strategies including activities designed to raise students awareness of strategies and the learning process as a whole, as well as activities designed to teach students how to use a specific strategy. It is a fact that some senior high school English teachers already use many activities in their classes that can be considered â€Å"strategies-based†. However, what seems to be missing is the awareness on the part of the students of what those strategies are or how to get those strategies to work for them. Effective strategy use is often associated with better students, those who have already â€Å"mastered† the learning process. Thus teachers may well be making a real contribution to facilitating the learning process by discussing selected strategies explicitly in the classroom. In class, senior high school English teachers can explain the purpose of the language activity, or call attention to how the teacher has organized the course materials e. g. laying out the range of possible strategies for reading a text in order to summarize it, addressing the many strategies associated with writing a coherent summary. 4. 5 Teacher as Creator of a Positive Environment This is a change of the teachers role in nature. This conversion requires that the teachers should â€Å"push the students forward† instead of â€Å"pulling them along†, and motivate the students instead of â€Å"pressing them†. Whats more, the teachers should help the students to establish a proper goal for English learning, confirm and correct their paths chosen to achieve this goal, and inspire them to develop themselves actively by means like spur, encouragement and commendation. Senior high school English teachers should provide positive classroom environment for students. Classroom climate refers to the atmosphere of the classroom, its social, psychological, and emotional characteristics (DunkinBiddle, 1974). The importance of lassroom climate as it relates to motivation derives from the notion that teaching is leadership intended to affect classroom behaviors. Classroom climate is often described using such terms as warm, cold, permissive, democratic, autocratic, and learner-centered. The climate in the classroom is largely established through teacher-student interactions. In China, teachers teach students English in non-target environment, which is different from those in the natural environment. The refore it is more important to create a good learning environment. Teachers here play an important role in providing a supportive environment that encourages students motivation, self-confidence, curiosity and desire to learn, and input and production. According to the findings in the investigation, this role also has positive effects on students achievements. The investigation shows that Teacher A provided the best language environment among the three classes. From the classroom observation, it can be found that As English is excellent. This shows that the teachers ability of creating the positive environment has much to do with the teachers language proficiency. In order to provide positive environment, the teacher has to: 1) Be capable of speaking fluent English. 2) Give students as many opportunities as possible to practice English. 5 Conclusion This thesis aims at analyzing classroom roles of senior high school English teachers under the requirement of new English Curriculum. This thesis firstly introduces the significance of the new curriculum from two aspects: new curriculum embodies the essence of education, at the same time; it reflects the policy of education. Secondly, according to the new curriculum, the author gives three suggestions on senior high school English teaching. The suggestions aim at bringing out new concepts on high school English teaching as well as renewing the teachers education capacity and building up self-development approach. Thirdly,in order to set up the roles as scientifically as possible, the author investigates students’ expectation and analyzes the relationship between the teacher’s roles and the students’ achievements. The author makes a profound analysis of each role and gives further suggestions. With limited study and knowledge, the explanations in many places are rather weak. The study can only be considered as a start for further insightful researches and findings.

The Go-Between Essay -- go-between Essays

The Go-Between 1. Overview This book is a memory story: a man in his sixties looks back on his boyhood of the middle class boy recalling the events that took place on a summer visit to an aristocratic family in Norfolk in the 1900’s. The author uses double narrative, the young Leo's actions told by the older Leo, and it shows us how it has affected his life Firsttly, I’ll introduce the main characters, their functions and relationships, then I’ll give you a small summary of the story, followed by the main themes and their symbolic elements, and finally the style of the book. Leo Colston has two different aspects, he’s the narrator of the book, a man of about sixty year old, and he’s a â€Å"dried up† man inside. Leo is a young boy of the middle class. He lives alone with his mother in West Hash, a little village near Salisbury. His father was a bank gardener in Salisbury is dead, Leo thinks he was a crank, he didn’t want his son to go to school but his mother always wanted him to go so as soon as he died, he went. His mother liked gossip and was very sensitive to public opinion, she needed social frame, and we can easily imagine her pleasure when her son has been invited to spend a summer to a rich friend. He has also an aunt, Charlotte, a Londoner. He and his mother were living on her money, the pension from the bank and the little; his father had been able to put by. Leo attends to the same school as upper class boys, such as Maudsley (he doesn’t remember his name probably because he has never been a special friend to him but while reading the diary he remembers his name was Marcus). Leo used to write his feelings and the happenings of each day on a diary. He believed he had magical powers and was able to cast spells. When he was at school, two boys who had annoyed him had an accident and he believes it is due to what he wrote on his journal. When he went to Brandham Hall, he was naà ¯ve and innocent. He didn’t know anything about love and sex. He naturally felt in love with a beautiful lady, as any young boy would have done. He’s curious about sex even if he doesn’t know what it is. The lack of father is especially important at that point; those explanations should be made by the father â€Å"it’s a job for your dad really†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At the end of the story he has discovered what he wanted to know but the outcome is devasting for him, he’ll be haunted al... ...She refers to her grandson, but in a sense Leo is the child of that 'happiness and beauty' of theirs which ignored all moral responsibility. Within the story itself we are led to see a duplicity in Marian which discredits her morally. Her kindness in taking Leo to Norwich for the new suit is marred by her second motive of meeting Ted. Her affection for Leo is undermined by her use of him. The birthday present of the bycyle which almost diverts him from his own belief in his moral duty to leave Brandham, and which he dreams of riding in the village street at home, is intended to make him a more efficient go-between. Ted may seem to be more concerned about Leo, but the narrator's verdict on him is that with all his decency and vitality, he is cowardly. Interpreting The Go Between has a moral tale meets with keen opposition from some readers who insist that Marian and Ted are the only healthy, natural people in the book; that Leo suffers from having lived a fantasy, and that Trimingham is living a rather pompous role as lord of the manor. The Go-Between is more than a simple moral tale. It does not force an interpretation on the reader, but invites him to think for himself.

An Open Letter to Black Parents Essay

In renowned sports figure, Arthur Ashe’s, â€Å"An Open Letter to Black Parents: Send Your Children to Libraries,† he talks about the fact that a college education is more important than the perks of becoming a professional athlete. While attending UCLA, Ashe came to the conclusion that African Americans were more caught up in the hype of one day becoming a professional athlete, rather than obtaining a lasting college education/diploma. Ashe believes that African Americans should â€Å"re-write† their persona into one of profoundness and professionalism. Arthur Ashe states that the role models of the African American society are primarily composed of athletes. Therefore, the young children in that society tend to model themselves after those people. Instead, Ashe wants to have those role models spread a message that a college education is far more important than being a professional athlete. For example, Ashe has stated many times to high school students that, â€Å"For every hour you spend on the athletic field, spend two in the library.† These words are a very powerful message, especially to young adults still searching for their call in this world. In conclusion, although Arthur Ashe may be recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of his generation, his college diploma from UCLA is his proudest moment in life.   In Richard Rodriguez’s â€Å"Complexion† he talks about the racism he experienced as a child. Rodriguez places a lot of emphasis on rhetorical devices throughout his essay. The rhetorical devices that Rodriguez primarily uses is, description and symbolism. Through using these two rhetorical devices, Rodriguez is able to relate to the reader in a more personal level, in my opinion. Through description, Rodriguez is able to elaborate on certain details. Through using symbolism, he expresses the  emotions and feelings that he feels. Richard Rodriguez writes this essay in order to inform people of the racism that he has experienced. Since Rodriguez was the one experiencing the racism, his essay coincides nicely with the rhetorical devices that he chose. Rodriguez is of the Mexican culture and he recalls times when he was a kid where he was being discriminated. Rodriguez writes that as a young child he was insulted and name called for being of the Mexican culture. He writes how he would never retaliate with another insult back because he would be so embarrassed. The reason as to why Rodriguez was being discriminated was because of his â€Å"complexion.† Through reading this story, it is just another example of how ignorant people are. There are many stories about how people have been discriminated against just due to the fact that they are from a different culture. Richard Rodriguez did the right thing in not retaliating or doing something stupid, in order to not suffer any consequences. Summary: â€Å"Don’t let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments† In Robert Heilbroner’s, â€Å"Don’t let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments,† he talks about the affects of stereotyping. Heilbroner discusses that stereotyping is evident in just about everywhere we are. The affects that stereotyping has on a person, as stated by Heilbroner, is it makes us lazy thinkers, and is harmful to those whom we are stereotyping. Heilbroner’s suggests that people who stereotype, do it â€Å"because it helps make sense out of a highly confusing world† (Heilbroner 373). This makes sense because we try to come up with answers to things we do not understand. Another theory that Heilbroner suggests as to why people stereotype, is because we are raised with a certain mindset about people. In his story Heilbroner gives the reader three ways to get rid of stereotyping. His first suggestion is to â€Å"become aware of the standardized pictures in our heads, in other people’s heads, in the world around us† (Heilbroner 374). The second suggestion is that â€Å"we can become suspicious of all judgments that we allow exceptions to prove† (Heilbroner 374). And lastly Heilbroner  suggests that â€Å"we can learn to be chary of generalizations of people† (Heilbroner 375). After reading Robert Heilbroner’s essay, I became more aware to the large amounts of stereotyping that occurs in today’s society. Although I was already aware, stereotyping not only has a negative effect on the person stereotyping, but on the person that is being stereotyped. Through stereotyping, one opens up a path that encourages horrible things such as racism and ignorance.

Chapter 27 Padfoot Returns

One of the best things about the aftermath of the second task was that everybody was very keen to hear details of what had happened down in the lake, which meant that Ron was getting to share Harry's limelight for once. Harry noticed that Ron's version of events changed subtly with every retelling. At first, he gave what seemed to be the truth; it tallied with Hermione's story, anyway – Dumbledore had put all the hostages into a bewitched sleep in Professor McGonagall's office, first assuring them that they would be quite safe, and would awake when they were back above the water. One week later, however, Ron was telling a thrilling tale of kidnap in which he struggled single-handedly against fifty heavily armed merpeople who had to beat him into submission before tying him up. â€Å"But I had my wand hidden up my sleeve,† he assured Padma Patil, who seemed to be a lot keener on Ron now that he was getting so much attention and was making a point of talking to him every time they passed in the corridors. â€Å"I could've taken those mer-idiots any time I wanted.† â€Å"What were you going to do, snore at them?† said Hermione waspishly. People had been teasing her so much about being the thing that Viktor Krum would most miss that she was in a rather tetchy mood. Ron's ears went red, and thereafter, he reverted to the bewitched sleep version of events. As they entered March the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because the owls kept being blown off course. The brown owl that Harry had sent to Sirius with the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend turned up at breakfast on Friday morning with half its feathers sticking up the wrong way; Harry had no sooner torn off Sirius's reply than it took flight, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again. Sirius's letter was almost as short as the previous one. Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can. â€Å"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?† said Ron incredulously. â€Å"It looks like it, doesn't it?† said Hermione. â€Å"I can't believe him,† said Harry tensely, â€Å"if he's caught†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?† said Ron. â€Å"And it's not like the place is swarming with dementors anymore.† Harry folded up the letter, thinking. If he was honest with himself, he really wanted to see Sirius again. He therefore approached the final lesson of the afternoon – double Potions – feeling considerably more cheerful than he usually did when descending the steps to the dungeons. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in a huddle outside the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. All of them were looking at something Harry couldn't see and sniggering heartily. Pansys pug-like face peered excitedly around Goyle's broad back as Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached. â€Å"There they are, there they are!† she giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart. Harry saw that Pansy had a magazine in her hands – Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the front showed a curly-haired witch who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand. â€Å"You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!† Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine at Hermione, who caught it, looking startled. At that moment, the dungeon door opened, and Snape beckoned them all inside. Hermione, Harry, and Ron headed for a table at the back of the dungeon as usual. Once Snape had turned his back on them to write up the ingredients of todays potion on the blackboard, Hermione hastily rifled through the magazine under the desk. At last, in the center pages, Hermione found what they were looking for. Harry and Ron leaned in closer. A color photograph of Harry headed a short piece entitled: Harry Potter's Secret Heartache A boy like no other, perhaps – yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss. Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has â€Å"never felt this way about any other girl.† However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtfu l natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest. â€Å"She's really ugly,† says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, â€Å"but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it.† Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potters well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate. â€Å"I told you!† Ron hissed at Hermione as she stared down at the article. â€Å"I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of- of scarlet woman!† Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. â€Å"Scarlet woman?† she repeated, shaking with suppressed giggles as she looked around at Ron. â€Å"It's what my mum calls them,† Ron muttered, his ears going red. â€Å"If that's the best Rita can do, she's losing her touch,† said Hermione, still giggling, as she threw Witch Weekly onto the empty chair beside her. â€Å"What a pile of old rubbish.† She looked over at the Slytherins, who were all watching her and Harry closely across the room to see if they had been upset by the article. Hermione gave them a sarcastic smile and a wave, and she, Harry, and Ron started unpacking the ingredients they would need for their Wit-Sharpening Potion. â€Å"There's something funny, though,† said Hermione ten minutes later, holding her pestle suspended over a bowl of scarab beetles. â€Å"How could Rita Skeeter have known†¦?† â€Å"Known what?† said Ron quickly. â€Å"You haven't been mixing up Love Potions, have you?† â€Å"Don't be stupid,† Hermione snapped, starting to pound up her beetles again. â€Å"No, it's just†¦how did she know Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer?† Hermione blushed scarlet as she said this and determinedly avoided Ron's eyes. â€Å"What?† said Ron, dropping his pestle with a loud clunk. â€Å"He asked me right after he'd pulled me out of the lake.† Hermione muttered. â€Å"After he'd got rid of his shark's head. Madam Pomfrey gave us both blankets and then he sort of pulled me away from the judges so they wouldn't hear, and he said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to -â€Å" â€Å"And what did you say?† said Ron, who had picked up his pestle and was grinding it on the desk, a good six inches from his bowl, because he was looking at Hermione. â€Å"And he did say he'd never felt the same way about anyone else,† Hermione went on, going so red now that Harry could almost feel the heat coming from her, â€Å"but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there†¦or was she? Maybe she has got an Invisibility Cloak; maybe she sneaked onto the grounds to watch the second task†¦.† â€Å"And what did you say?† Ron repeated, pounding his pestle down so hard that it dented the desk. â€Å"Well, I was too busy seeing whether you and Harry were okay to -â€Å" â€Å"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is. Miss Granger,† said an icy voice right behind them, and all three of them jumped, â€Å"I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor.† Snape had glided over to their desk while they were talking. The whole class was now looking around at them; Malfoy took the opportunity to flash POTTER STINKS across the dungeon at Harry. â€Å"Ah†¦reading magazines under the table as well?† Snape added, snatching up the copy of Witch Weekly. â€Å"A further ten points from Gryffindor†¦oh but of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Snape's black eyes glittered as they fell on Rita Skeeter's article. â€Å"Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings†¦.† The dungeon rang with the Slytherins' laughter, and an unpleasant smile curled Snape's thin mouth. To Harry's fury, he began to read the article aloud. â€Å"‘Harry Potter's Secret Heartache†¦dear, dear. Potter, what's ailing you now? ‘A boy like no other, perhaps†¦'† Harry could feel his face burning. Snape was pausing at the end of every sentence to allow the Slytherins a hearty laugh. The article sounded ten times worse when read by Snape. Even Hermione was blushing scarlet now. â€Å"‘†¦Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.' How very touching,† sneered Snape, rolling up the magazine to continued gales of laughter from the Slytherins. â€Å"Well, I think I had better separate the three of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter – that table in front of my desk. Move. Now.† Furious, Harry threw his ingredients and his bag into his cauldron and dragged it up to the front of the dungeon to the empty table. Snape followed, sat down at his desk and watched Harry unload his cauldron. Determined not to look at Snape, Harry resumed the mashing of his scarab beetles, imagining each one to have Snape's face. â€Å"All this press attention seems to have inflated your already over-large head. Potter,† said Snape quietly, once the rest of the class had settled down again. Harry didn't answer. He knew Snape was trying to provoke him; he had done this before. No doubt he was hoping for an excuse to take a round fifty points from Gryffindor before the end of the class. â€Å"You might be laboring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you,† Snape went on, so quietly that no one else could hear him (Harry continued to pound his scarab beetles, even though he had already reduced them to a very fine powder), â€Å"but I don't care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me. Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him.† Harry tipped the powdered beetles into his cauldron and started cutting up his ginger roots. His hands were shaking slightly out of anger, but he kept his eyes down, as though he couldn't hear what Snape was saying to him. â€Å"So I give you fair warning, Potter,† Snape continued in a sorter and more dangerous voice, â€Å"pint-sized celebrity or not – if I catch you breaking into my office one more time -â€Å" â€Å"I haven't been anywhere near your office!† said Harry angrily, forgetting his feigned deafness. â€Å"Don't lie to me,† Snape hissed, his fathomless black eyes boring into Harry's. â€Å"Boomslang skin. Gillyweed. Both come from my private stores, and I know who stole them.† Harry stared back at Snape, determined not to blink or to look guilty. In truth, he hadn't stolen either of these things from Snape. Hermione had taken the boomslang skin back in their second year – they had needed it for the Polyjuice Potion – and while Snape had suspected Harry at the time, he had never been able to prove it. Dobby, of course, had stolen the gillyweed. â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about,† Harry lied coldly. â€Å"You were out of bed on the night my office was broken into!† Snape hissed. â€Å"I know it. Potter! Now, Mad-Eye Moody might have joined your fan club, but I will not tolerate your behavior! One more nighttime stroll into my office, Potter, and you will pay!† â€Å"Right,† said Harry coolly, turning back to his ginger roots. â€Å"I'll bear that in mind if I ever get the urge to go in there.† Snape's eyes flashed. He plunged a hand into the inside of his black robes. For one wild moment. Harry thought Snape was about to pull out his wand and curse him – then he saw that Snape had drawn out a small crystal bottle of a completely clear potion. Harry stared at it. â€Å"Do you know what this is. Potter?† Snape said, his eyes glittering dangerously again. â€Å"No,† said Harry, with complete honesty this time. â€Å"It is Veritaserum – a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear,† said Snape viciously. â€Å"Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips† – he shook the crystal bottle slightly – â€Å"right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then. Potter†¦then we'll find out whether you've been in my office or not.† Harry said nothing. He turned back to his ginger roots once more, picked up his knife, and started slicing them again. He didn't like the sound of that Truth Potion at all, nor would he put it past Snape to slip him some. He repressed a shudder at the thought of what might come spilling out of his mouth if Snape did it†¦quite apart from landing a whole lot of people in trouble – Hermione and Dobby for a start – there were all the other things he was concealing†¦like the fact that he was in contact with Sirius†¦and – his insides squirmed at the thought – how he felt about Cho†¦.He tipped his ginger roots into the cauldron too, and wondered whether he ought to take a leaf out of Moody's book and start drinking only from a private hip flask. There was a knock on the dungeon door. â€Å"Enter,† said Snape in his usual voice. The class looked around as the door opened. Professor Karkaroff came in. Everyone watched him as he walked up toward Snape's desk. He was twisting his finger around his goatee and looking agitated. â€Å"We need to talk,† said Karkaroff abruptly when he had reached Snape. He seemed so determined that nobody should hear what he was saying that he was barely opening his lips; it was as though he were a rather poor ventriloquist. Harry kept his eyes on his ginger roots, listening hard. â€Å"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff,† Snape muttered, but Karkaroff interrupted him. â€Å"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me.† â€Å"After the lesson,† Snape snapped. Under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if he'd poured out enough armadillo bile, Harry sneaked a sidelong glance at the pair of them. Karkaroff looked extremely worried, and Snape looked angry. Karkaroff hovered behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period. He seemed intent on preventing Snape from slipping away at the end of class. Keen to hear what Karkaroff wanted to say, Harry deliberately knocked over his bottle of armadillo bile with two minutes to go to the bell, which gave him an excuse to duck down behind his cauldron and mop up while the rest of the class moved noisily toward the door. â€Å"What's so urgent?† he heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff. â€Å"This,† said Karkaroff, and Harry, peering around the edge of his cauldron, saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe and show Snape something on his inner forearm. â€Å"Well?† said Karkaroff, still making every effort not to move his lips. â€Å"Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since -â€Å" â€Å"Put it away!† snarled Snape, his black eyes sweeping the classroom. â€Å"But you must have noticed -† Karkaroff began in an agitated voice. â€Å"We can talk later, Karkaroff!† spat Snape. â€Å"Potter! What are you doing?† â€Å"Clearing up my armadillo bile, Professor,† said Harry innocently, straightening up and showing Snape the sodden rag he was holding. Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon. He looked both worried and angry. Not wanting to remain alone with an exceptionally angry Snape, Harry threw his books and ingredients back into his bag and left at top speed to tell Ron and Hermione what he had just witnessed. They left the castle at noon the next day to find a weak silver sun shining down upon the grounds. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, all three of them had taken off their cloaks and thrown them over their shoulders. The food Sirius had told them to bring was in Harry's bag; they had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. They went into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where they had fun selecting the most lurid socks they could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly. Then, at half past one, they made their way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. Harry had never been in this direction before. The winding lane was leading them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; they were walking toward the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Then they turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for them, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in its mouth and looking very familiar†¦. â€Å"Hello, Sirius,† said Harry when they had reached him. The black dog sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from them across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed over the stile and followed. Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him, with his four paws, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione were soon out of breath. They followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour they climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail, sweating in the sun, the shoulder straps of Harry's bag cutting into his shoulders. Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when they reached the place where he had vanished, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Half gray horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of them. All three of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Harry, however, was looking at the black dog, which had just turned into his godfather. Sirius was wearing ragged gray robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he had left Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when he had appeared in the fire, and it was untidy and matted once more. He looked very thin. â€Å"Chicken!† he said hoarsely after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor. Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread. â€Å"Thanks,† said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. â€Å"I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself.† He grinned up at Harry, but Harry returned the grin only reluctantly. â€Å"What're you doing here, Sirius?† he said. â€Å"Fulfilling my duty as godfather,† said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. â€Å"Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray.† He was still grinning, but seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, said more seriously, â€Å"I want to be on the spot. Your last letter†¦well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried.† He nodded at the yellowing Daily Prophets on the cave floor, and Ron picked them up and unfolded them. Harry, however, continued to stare at Sirius. â€Å"What if they catch you? What if you're seen?† â€Å"You three and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus,† said Sirius, shrugging, and continuing to devour the chicken leg. Ron nudged Harry and passed him the Daily Prophets. There were two: The first bore the headline Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing – Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved. Harry scanned the story about Crouch. Phrases jumped out at him: hasn't been seen in public since November†¦house appears deserted†¦St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries decline comment†¦Ministry refuses to confirm rumors of critical illness†¦. â€Å"They're making it sound like he's dying,† said Harry slowly. â€Å"But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here†¦.† â€Å"My brothers Crouch's personal assistant,† Ron informed Sirius. â€Å"He says Crouch is suffering from overwork.† â€Å"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close,† said Harry slowly, still reading the story. â€Å"The night my name came out of the goblet†¦.† â€Å"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?† said Hermione, an edge to her voice. She was stroking Buckbeak, who was crunching up Sirius's chicken bones. â€Å"I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now – bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him.† â€Å"Hermione's obsessed with house-elfs,† Ron muttered to Sirius, casting Hermione a dark look. Sirius, however, looked interested. â€Å"Crouch sacked his house-elf?† â€Å"Yeah, at the Quidditch World Cup,† said Harry, and he launched into the story of the Dark Mark's appearance, and Winky being found with Harry's wand clutched in her hand, and Mr. Crouch's fury. When Harry had finished, Sirius was on his feet again and had started pacing up and down the cave. â€Å"Let me get this straight,† he said after a while, brandishing a fresh chicken leg. â€Å"You first saw the elfin the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?† â€Å"Right,† said Harry, Ron, and Hermione together. â€Å"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"I think he said he'd been too busy.† Sirius paced all around the cave in silence. Then he said, â€Å"Harry, did you check your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?† â€Å"Erm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry thought hard. â€Å"No,† he said finally. â€Å"I didn't need to use it before we got in the forest. And then I put my hand in my pocket, and all that was in there were my Omnioculars.† He stared at Sirius. â€Å"Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole my wand in the Top Box?† â€Å"It's possible,† said Sirius. â€Å"Winky didn't steal that wand!† Hermione insisted. â€Å"The elf wasn't the only one in that box,† said Sirius, his brow furrowed as he continued to pace. â€Å"Who else was sitting behind you?† â€Å"Loads of people,† said Harry. â€Å"Some Bulgarian ministers†¦Cornelius Fudge†¦the Malfoys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The Malfoys!† said Ron suddenly, so loudly that his voice echoed all around the cave, and Buckbeak tossed his head nervously. â€Å"I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!† â€Å"Anyone else?† said Sirius. â€Å"No one,† said Harry. â€Å"Yes, there was, there was Ludo Bagman,† Hermione reminded him. â€Å"Oh yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't know anything about Bagman except that he used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps,† said Sirius, still pacing. â€Å"What's he like?† â€Å"He's okay,† said Harry. â€Å"He keeps offering to help me with the Triwizard Tournament.† â€Å"Does he, now?† said Sirius, frowning more deeply. â€Å"I wonder why he'd do that?† â€Å"Says he's taken a liking to me,† said Harry. â€Å"Hmm,† said Sirius, looking thoughtful. â€Å"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark appeared,† Hermione told Sirius. â€Å"Remember?† she said to Harry and Ron. â€Å"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?† said Ron. â€Å"The moment we told him about the riot, he went off to the campsite.† â€Å"How d'you know?† Hermione shot back. â€Å"How d'you know where he Disapparated to?† â€Å"Come off it,† said Ron incredulously. â€Å"Are you saying you reckon Ludo Bagman conjured the Dark Mark?† â€Å"It's more likely he did it than Winky,† said Hermione stubbornly. â€Å"Told you,† said Ron, looking meaningfully at Sirius, â€Å"told you she's obsessed with house -â€Å" But Sirius held up a hand to silence Ron. â€Å"When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?† â€Å"Went to look in the bushes,† said Harry, â€Å"but there wasn't anyone else there.† â€Å"Of course,† Sirius muttered, pacing up and down, â€Å"of course, he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf†¦and then he sacked her?† â€Å"Yes,† said Hermione in a heated voice, â€Å"he sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!† said Ron. Sirius shook his head and said, â€Å"She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a mans like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.† He ran a hand over his unshaven face, evidently thinking hard. â€Å"All these absences of Barty Crouch's†¦he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too†¦.It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak.† â€Å"D'you know Crouch, then?† said Harry. Sirius's face darkened. He suddenly looked as menacing as he had the night when Harry first met him, the night when Harry still believed Sirius to be a murderer. â€Å"Oh I know Crouch all right,† he said quietly. â€Å"He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban – without a trial.† â€Å"What?† said Ron and Hermione together. â€Å"You're kidding!† said Harry. â€Å"No, I'm not,† said Sirius, taking another great bite of chicken. â€Å"Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?† Harry, Ron, and Hermione shook their heads. â€Å"He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic,† said Sirius. â€Å"He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical – and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter,† he said, reading the look on Harry's face. â€Å"No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side†¦well, you wouldn't understand†¦you're too young†¦.† â€Å"That's what my dad said at the World Cup,† said Ron, with a trace of irritation in his voice. â€Å"Try us, why don't you?† A grin flashed across Sirius's thin face. â€Å"All right, I'll try you†¦.† He walked once up the cave, back again, and then said, â€Å"Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing†¦the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere†¦panic†¦confusion†¦that's how it used to be. â€Å"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning – I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers – powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you – plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened†¦.† Sir ius smiled grimly. â€Å"Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power.† â€Å"Crouch's son was caught?† gasped Hermione. â€Å"Yep,† said Sirius, throwing his chicken bone to Buckbeak, flinging himself back down on the ground beside the loaf of bread, and tearing it in half. â€Å"Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd I magine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while†¦gotten to know his own son.† He began to wolf down large pieces of bread. â€Å"Was his son a Death Eater?† said Harry. â€Å"No idea,† said Sirius, still stuffing down bread. â€Å"I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters – but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house-elf.† â€Å"Did Crouch try and get his son off?† Hermione whispered. Sirius let out a laugh that was much more like a bark. â€Å"Crouch let his son off? I thought you had the measure of him, Hermione! Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go; he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. You saw him dismiss a devoted house-elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again – doesn't that tell you what he's like? Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy†¦then he sent him straight to Azkaban.† â€Å"He gave his own son to the dementors?† asked Harry quietly. â€Å"That's right,† said Sirius, and he didn't look remotely amused now. â€Å"I saw the dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though†¦they all went quiet in the end†¦except when they shrieked in their sleep†¦.† For a moment, the deadened look in Sirius's eyes became more pronounced than ever, as though shutters had closed behind them. â€Å"So he's still in Azkaban?† Harry said. â€Å"No,† said Sirius dully. â€Å"No, he's not in there anymore. He died about a year after they brought him in.† â€Å"He died?† â€Å"He wasn't the only one,† said Sirius bitterly. â€Å"Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it.† Sirius threw aside the bread he had just lifted to his mouth and instead picked up the flask of pumpkin juice and drained it. â€Å"So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made,† he continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. â€Å"One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic†¦next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and, so I've heard since I escaped, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation.† There was a long silence. Harry was thinking of the way Crouch's eyes had bulged as he'd looked down at his disobedient house-elf back in the wood at the Quidditch World Cup. This, then, must have been why Crouch had overreacted to Winky being found beneath the Dark Mark. It had brought back memories of his son, and the old scandal, and his fall from grace at the Ministry. â€Å"Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark wizards,† Harry told Sirius. â€Å"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him,† said Sirius, nodding. â€Å"If you ask me, he still thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater.† â€Å"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!† said Ron triumphantly, looking at Hermione. â€Å"Yes, and that doesn't make sense at all,† said Sirius. â€Å"Yeah, it does!† said Ron excitedly, but Sirius shook his head. â€Å"Listen, if Crouch wants to investigate Snape, why hasn't he been coming to judge the tournament? It would be an ideal excuse to make regular visits to Hogwarts and keep an eye on him.† â€Å"So you think Snape could be up to something, then?† asked Harry, but Hermione broke in. â€Å"Look, I don't care what you say, Dumbledore trusts Snape -â€Å" â€Å"Oh give it a rest, Hermione,† said Ron impatiently. â€Å"I know Dumbledores brilliant and everything, but that doesn't mean a really clever Dark wizard couldn't fool him -â€Å" â€Å"Why did Snape save Harry's life in the first year, then? Why didn't he just let him die?† â€Å"I dunno – maybe he thought Dumbledore would kick him out-â€Å" â€Å"What d'you think, Sirius?† Harry said loudly, and Ron and Hermione stopped bickering to listen. â€Å"I think they've both got a point,† said Sirius, looking thoughtfully at Ron and Hermione. â€Å"Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was,† Sirius added, and Harry and Ron grinned at each other. â€Å"Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters.† Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names. â€Å"Rosier and Wilkes – they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges – they're a married couple – they're in Azkaban. Avery – from what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse – he's still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater – not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble.† â€Å"Snape knows Karkaroff pretty well, but he wants to keep that quiet,† said Ron. â€Å"Yeah, you should've seen Snape's face when Karkaroff turned up in Potions yesterday!† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Karkaroff wanted to talk to Snape, he says Snape's been avoiding him. Karkaroff looked really worried. He showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what it was.† He showed Snape something on his arm?† said Sirius, looking frankly bewildered. He ran his fingers distractedly through his filthy hair, then shrugged again. â€Å"Well, I've no idea what that's about†¦but if Karkaroff's genuinely worried, and he's going to Snape for answers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sirius stared at the cave wall, then made a grimace of frustration. â€Å"There's still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I know Dumbledore trusts where a lot of other people wouldn't, but I just can't see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he'd ever worked for Voldemort.† â€Å"Why are Moody and Crouch so keen to get into Snape's office then?† said Ron stubbornly. â€Å"Well,† said Sirius slowly, â€Å"I wouldn't put it past Mad-Eye to have searched every single teacher's office when he got to Hogwarts. He takes his Defense Against the Dark Arts seriously, Moody. I'm not sure he trusts anyone at all, and after the things he's seen, it's not surprising. I'll say this for Moody, though, he never killed if he could help it. Always brought people in alive where possible. He was tough, but he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters. Crouch, though†¦he's a different matter†¦is he really ill? If he is, why did he make the effort to drag himself up to Snape's office? And if he's not†¦what's he up to? What was he doing at the World Cup that was so important he didn't turn up in the Top Box? What's he been doing while he should have been judging the tournament?† Sirius lapsed into silence, still staring at the cave wall. Buckbeak was ferreting around on the rocky floor, looking for bones he might have overlooked. Finally, Sirius looked up at Ron. â€Å"You say your brother's Crouch's personal assistant? Any chance you could ask him if he's seen Crouch lately?† â€Å"I can try,† said Ron doubtfully. â€Å"Better not make it sound like I reckon Crouch is up to anything dodgy, though. Percy loves Crouch.† â€Å"And you might try and find out whether they've got any leads on Bertha Jorkins while you're at it,† said Sirius, gesturing to the second copy of the Daily Prophet. â€Å"Bagman told me they hadn't,† said Harry. â€Å"Yes, he's quoted in the article in there,† said Sirius, nodding at the paper. â€Å"Blustering on about how bad Bertha's memory is. Well, maybe she's changed since I knew her, but the Bertha I knew wasn't forgetful at all – quite the reverse. She was a bit dim, but she had an excellent memory for gossip. It used to get her into a lot of trouble; she never knew when to keep her mouth shut. I can see her being a bit of a liability at the Ministry of Magic†¦maybe that's why Bagman didn't bother to look for her for so long†¦.† Sirius heaved an enormous sigh and rubbed his shadowed eyes. â€Å"What's the time?† Harry checked his watch, then remembered it hadn't been working since it had spent over an hour in the lake. â€Å"It's half past three,† said Hermione. â€Å"You'd better get back to school,† Sirius said, getting to his feet. â€Å"Now listen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked particularly hard at Harry. â€Å"I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you.† â€Å"No one's tried to attack me so far, except a dragon and a couple of grindylows,† Harry said, but Sirius scowled at him. â€Å"I don't care†¦I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?† He handed Harry the empty napkin and flask and went to pat Buckbeak good-bye. â€Å"I'll walk to the edge of the village with you,† said Sirius, â€Å"see if I can scrounge another paper.† He transformed into the great black dog before they left the cave, and they walked back down the mountainside with him, across the boulder-strewn ground, and back to the stile. Here he allowed each of them to pat him on the head, before turning and setting off at a run around the outskirts of the village. Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way back into Hogsmeade and up toward Hogwarts. â€Å"Wonder if Percy knows all that stuff about Crouch?† Ron said as they walked up the drive to the castle. â€Å"But maybe he doesn't care†¦It'd probably just make him admire Crouch even more. Yeah, Percy loves rules. He'd just say Crouch was refusing to break them for his own son.† â€Å"Percy would never throw any of his family to the dementors,† said Hermione severely. â€Å"I don't know,† said Ron. â€Å"If he thought we were standing in the way of his career†¦Percy's really ambitious, you know†¦.† They walked up the stone steps into the entrance hall, where the delicious smells of dinner wafted toward them from the Great Hall. â€Å"Poor old Snuffles,† said Ron, breathing deeply. â€Å"He must really like you. Harry†¦.Imagine having to live off rats.†

US Foreign Policy (1890-1914) essays

US Foreign Policy (1890-1914) essays The United States approach to foreign policy had not changed conceptually from the days it signed its independence. These ideas were primarily based on protecting US interests overseas and restricting foreign influences in the Americas. Once they furthered themselves politically and economically, they gained the status of being a world power and they still wanted more. They figured they had to strengthen the country industrially as they needed worldwide markets for its growing industrial and agricultural surpluses as well as sources of raw materials for manufacturing. They could only achieve these foreign markets with more concentrated efforts on its foreign policy as America was principally guided by economic motives. The internal economic growth of the United States made them want to look outward for foreign markets. Export earnings increased from 450 million to over a billion from 1870 to the early 1890s. US businesss were soon overpowering foreign competition as even American steelmakers could easily compete with any British producer in the world. Everything seemed to be inciting the US to expand abroad. Expansionists throughout America emphasized the resources of what other lands could provide and the wealth that could result from their establishment. For example, Cuba offered an abundance of sugar plantations and land in Panama would offer America control of the canal. The economic benefits of a foreign land can be seen through an example of Americans exploring the distant islands of Hawaii. During the course of the early 1800s, missionaries from America traversed on a laborious voyage to Hawaii and ended up settling there. They offered accounts of incredible economic opportunities and possibilities in the Hawaiian islands. Consequently, other Americans proceeded to Hawaii to become sugar planters and to establish ...

A Feminist Analysis of Shakespeares Hamlet

A Feminist Analysis of Shakespeares Hamlet According to feminist scholars, the canonical texts of Western literature represent the voices of those who have been given the power to speak in Western culture. The authors of the Western canon are predominately white men, and many critics consider their voices to be domineering, exclusionary, and biased in favor of a male point of view. This complaint has led to much debate between critics and defenders of the canon. To explore some of these issues, we will examine Shakespeares Hamlet, one of the most famous and widely read works of the Western canon. The Western Canon and Its Critics One of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the canon is Harold Bloom, author of the bestseller The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. In this book, Bloom lists the works that he believes constitute the canon (from Homer to the present) and argues for their safeguarding. He also spells out who, in his view, the canons critics and enemies are. Bloom groups these opponents, including feminist scholars who wish to revise the canon, into one School of Resentment. His contention is that these critics are striving, for their own peculiar reasons, to invade the world of academia and replace the traditional, largely canonical programs of the past with a new curriculumin Blooms words, a politicized curriculum. Blooms defense of the Western canon rests on its aesthetic value. The focus of his complaint is that,  among the professions of literary teachers, critics, analysts, reviewers and authors too, there has been an increasingly noticeable  flight from the aesthetic brought on by an unfortunate attempt to assuage displaced guilt. In other words, Bloom believes that the academic feminists, Marxists, Afrocentrists, and other critics of the canon are motivated by a political desire to correct the sins of the past by replacing the literary works from those eras. In turn, these critics of the canon argue that Bloom and his sympathizers are racists and sexists, that they are excluding the under-represented, and that they oppose...adventure and new interpretations. Feminism in Hamlet For Bloom, the greatest of the canonical authors is Shakespeare, and one of the works Bloom most celebrates in The Western Canon is Hamlet. This play, of course, has been celebrated by all kinds of critics through the ages. The feminist complaintthat the Western canon, in the words of Brenda Cantar, is generally not from the point of view of a woman and that womens voices are virtually ignoredis supported by the evidence of Hamlet. This play, which supposedly fathoms the human psyche, does not reveal much at all about the two major female characters. They act either as a theatrical balance to the male characters or as a sounding board for their fine speeches and actions. Bloom gives fuel to the feminist claim of sexism when he observes that Queen Gertrude,  recently the recipient of several Feminist defenses, requires no apologies. She is evidently a woman of exuberant sexuality, who inspired  luxurious  passion first in  King Hamlet  and later in King Claudius.  If this is the best that Bloom can offer in suggesting the substance of Gertrudes character, it would serve us well to examine further some of the complaints of the feminists regarding the female voice in Shakespeare. Cantar points out that  both the male and female psyches are a construction of cultural forces, such as class differences, racial and national differences, historical differences. What more influential cultural force could there have been in Shakespeares time than that of patriarchy? The  patriarchal society  of the Western world had powerfully negative implications for the freedom of women to express themselves, and in turn, the psyche of the woman was almost entirely subsumed (artistically, socially, linguistically, and legally) by the cultural psyche of the man. Sadly, the male regard for the female was inextricably connected to the female body. Since men were assumed to be dominant over women, the female body was considered the mans property, and its sexual objectification was an open topic of conversation. Many of Shakespeares plays make this very clear, including Hamlet. The sexual innuendo in Hamlets dialogue with Ophelia would have been transparent to a Renaissance audience, and apparently acceptable. Referring to a double meaning of nothing, Hamlet says to her: Thats a fair thought to lie between maids legs. It is a tawdry joke for a noble prince to share with a young woman of the court; however, Hamlet is not shy to share it, and Ophelia seems not at all offended to hear it. But then, the author is a male writing in a male-dominated culture, and the dialogue represents his point of view, not necessarily that of a cultured woman, who might feel differently about such humor. Gertrude and Ophelia To Polonius, the chief counselor to the king, the greatest threat to the social order is cuckoldry or the unfaithfulness of a woman to her husband. For this reason, critic Jacqueline Rose writes that Gertrude is the symbolic scapegoat of the play. Susanne Wofford interprets Rose to mean that Gertrudes betrayal of her husband is the cause of Hamlets anxiety. Marjorie Garber points to an abundance of phallocentric imagery and language in the play, revealing Hamlets subconscious focus on his mothers apparent infidelity. All of these feminist interpretations, of course, are drawn from the male dialogue, for the text gives us no direct information about Gertrudes actual thoughts or feelings on these matters. In a sense, the queen is denied a voice in her own defense or representation. Likewise, the object Ophelia (the object of Hamlets desire) is also denied a voice. In the view of author Elaine Showalter, she is  portrayed in the play as an insignificant minor character created mainly as an instrument to better represent Hamlet.  Deprived of thought, sexuality, language, Ophelias story becomes the Story of Othe zero, the empty circle or mystery of feminine difference, the cipher of female sexuality to be deciphered by feminist interpretation. This depiction is reminiscent of many of the women in Shakespearean drama and comedy. Perhaps it begs for the efforts of interpretation that, by Showalters account, so many have tried to make of Ophelias character. An eloquent and scholarly interpretation of many of Shakespeares women would surely be welcome. A Possible Resolution Showalters insight about the representation of men and women in Hamlet, though it may be viewed as a complaint, is actually something of a resolution between the critics and defenders of the canon. What she has  done, through a close reading of a character that is now famous, is focus the attention of both groups on a piece of common ground. Showalters analysis is part of a concerted effort, in Cantars words, to  alter cultural perceptions of gender, those represented in the canon of great literary works. Surely a scholar like Bloom recognizes that there is a need...to  study the institutional practices and social arrangements that have both invented and sustained the literary canon. He could concede this without giving an inch in his defense of aestheticismthat is, literary quality. The most prominent feminist critics (including Showalter and Garber) already recognize the canons aesthetic greatness, regardless of the male dominance of the past. Meanwhile, one may suggest for the future that the New Feminist movement continue searching out worthy female writers and promoting their works on aesthetic grounds, adding them to the Western canon as they deserve. There is surely an extreme imbalance between the male and female voices represented in the Western canon. The sorry gender discrepancies in Hamlet are an unfortunate example of this. This imbalance must be remedied by women writers themselves, for they can most accurately represent their own views. But, to adapt two quotes by ​Margaret Atwood, the proper path in accomplishing this is for women to become better [writers] in order to add social validity to their views; and female critics have to be willing to give writing by men the same kind of serious attention they themselves want from men for womens writing. In the end, this is the finest way to restore the balance and allow all of us to truly appreciate the literary voices of humankind. Sources Atwood, Margaret.  Second Words: Selected Critical Prose. House of Anansi Press. Toronto. 1982.Bloom, Harold. An Elegy for the Canon.  Book of Readings, 264-273. English 251B. Distance Education.  University of Waterloo. 2002.Bloom, Harold.  The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. Riverhead Books. The Berkley Publishing Group. New York. 1994.Cantar, Brenda. Lecture 21. English 251B. University of Waterloo, 2002.Kolodny, Annette. Dancing Through the Minefield.  Book of Readings, 347-370. English 251B. Distance Education. University of Waterloo, 2002.Shakespeare, William.  Hamlet. Bedford/St. Martins Edition. Susanne L. Wofford. Editor. Boston/New York: Bedford Books. 1994.Showalter, Elaine.  Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism. Macmillan, 1994.Wofford, Susanne.  William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994.