the "code hero" in A Farewell to Arms, and Atticus as a hero in To Kill A Mockingbird

An analysis of the Hemingway "code hero" in A Farewell to Arms, and considering Atticus as a hero in To Kill A Mockingbird.

The idea of heroism is often explored in literature. The works of Ernest Hemingway, including the novel A Farewell to Arms, feature “code heroes” adhering to a specific set of ideals despite great pain and difficulty. Heroes in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee demonstrate courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. In both cases, the heroes adhere to their ideals depsite enormous challenges.

The Hemingway “code hero” demonstrates composure and adheres to his or her ideals even while facing the harsh realities of the world. A code hero understands the reality of “nada” (nothingness) that is the core of Hemingway’s writing; the essence of nada is that life has no purpose or meaning. The lack of purpose and meaning that is key to nada also means that human lives are dictated by chance. As part of his or her understanding of nada, a Hemingway code hero has no religion or belief in an afterlife, instead living fully while alive. Code heroes experience meaningless losses that serve to emphasize the random nature of nada. Rather than despair at his or her knowledge of nada, however, a Hemingway code hero seeks pleasure and happiness, living his or her life while alive. A code hero’s efforts are eventually rendered meaningless by death, the culmination of the forces of nada. Hemingway code heroes maintain dignity and self-control under pressure.

Catherine Barkley, the female lead of A Farewell to Arms, demonstrates many of the qualities of a Hemingway code hero. Catherine seeks pleasure and gratification following the death of her fiancée; she begins her relationship with Frederic Henry well before the two are well acquainted. Catherine has no religious beliefs, claiming instead that Henry is her religion. Catherine has experienced great loss, giving her an understanding of the concept of nada and motivating her to actively seek gratification and pleasure in life. Her death reflects the inevitable victory of nada over the code hero; before she dies, she says that the world has “broken” her, reflecting that her pursuit of her ideals has been crushed by the forces of nada. Catherine’s pursuit of pleasure and happiness despite an overwhelming specter of death demonstrate the key qualities of a Hemingway code hero.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, heroes fight in support of their beliefs and demonstrate courage in the face of enormous adversity. The heroes in To Kill A Mockingbird accept and support the maligned members of society. These heroes firmly believe in egalitarianism, viewing no person as superior to any other regardless of class, race, or gender. Harper Lee’s heroes recognize and understand the faults of humanity and the faults of the world; rather than accept these faults, however, the characters work to eradicate them and improve the world. Even when their attempts to improve the world are opposed, these heroes continue to work to better the ills of society and humanity.

Atticus Finch exemplifies the ideals of heroism in To Kill A Mockingbird. He takes on the case of Tom Robinson despite knowing that he has no chance of winning in an effort to give Tom the best outcome possible; Atticus also accepts the maligned Boo Radley, helping others learn to do the same. Even as he receives death threats, Atticus continues with Tom Robinson’s case, knowing that it is a moral imperative for him. Atticus recognizes the faults of humanity and society but maintains an egalitarian view, reflecting the equality and egalitarianism of Harper Lee’s heroes. He uses this egalitarian view as his basis for working towards an improved world; Atticus works in support of his ideals of justice and equality.

Literature often discusses the topic of heroism. Ernest Hemingway uses code heroes, heroes who followed a courageous set of ideals despite the constant specter of death. Harper Lee’s heroes fight for their beliefs and ideals, including justice and equality, even when their ideals are rejected by mainstream society. In both A Farewell to Arms and To Kill A Mockingbird, the heroes persevere despite enormous challenges.

Synthesizers

A term paper about the basics of music synthesis.

Modern synthesizers are able to produce sounds identical to those of real instruments using computers. Synthesizers produce sound by electronically imitating sound waves; more advanced sounds are produced by manipulations of these basic sound waves. Synthesizers are used frequently in modern music.

The fundamentals underlying sound synthesis are based in acoustics, the science of sound. Sound is a wave produced by vibrating objects that transfer this wave to the air around them; sound is most frequently represented as a wave known as a waveform that shows the changes in air pressure over time (Rothstein). Objects that produce recognizable pitches vibrate predominantly on a single plane; vibrations on many planes produce interference between vibrations that results in noise without a pitch (“Sound”). Synthesizers imitate the natural vibration of objects with electrical waveforms that are identical to the sound the synthesizer is attempting to produce. The resulting vibrations are made audible by increasing the amplitude of the sine wave (Rothstein). Synthesizers that only produce individual tones have simple waveforms identical to sine curves; synthesizers that are more complex have more complex waveforms reflecting the multiple frequencies of the sounds they produce (“Sound”) The complex waveform of sounds with multiple frequencies is a graph of the results of interference between the waveforms of the frequencies (“Sound”).

Most sounds are combinations of a fundamental tone and multiple overtones; each instrument has a unique set of overtones that gives it its timbre, or unique sound “color”, which allows for distinction between different instruments (Rothstein). In sounds with no distinct musical pitch, such as the crash of a cymbal, these overtones are generally unrelated to the fundamental tone (“Sound”). In “musical” sounds, these overtones are integral multiples of the fundamental tone; the first overtone is twice the fundamental, the second is three times the fundamental, and so on (United). The relationship between overtones is logarithmic, meaning that the difference in frequency between overtones increases with the overtones (Rothstein). Synthesizers often do not sound like the instrument they are designed to because while they easily produce the fundamental tone, they do not accurately reproduce the overtones of that instrument. Simple synthesizers produce only the fundamental tone, giving a recognizable synthesized sound; more advanced synthesizers utilize overtones as well, allowing for a greater range of musical sounds.

One common method of synthesis involving multiple frequencies is additive synthesis, in which overtones are added over the fundamental tone, creating a complex waveform similar to actual musical instruments from a sinusoidal waveform (“Sound”). Another common method, subtractive synthesis, is the opposite of additive synthesis, in which sounds are filtered from a wide array of sounds to produce the desired fundamental and overtones; the waveform in this type of synthesis transitions from incredibly complex to less complex (“Sound”). Another digital music method often perceived as synthesis is sampling, in which the waveforms of acoustic samples of sound are digitally altered; as the sounds are not artificially produced, however, it is not true synthesis (Rothstein). Many recently developed synthesizers attempt to produce waveforms of sound by emulating how the sound is naturally produced; these synthesizers create complex representations of real objects digitally and use the resulting data to produce a waveform (“Sound”).

Digital synthesis is based on the scientific principles of sound. Synthesizers emulate acoustically produced sound by producing electrical signals with identical waveforms. Advanced synthesizing methods involving overtones enable the digital production of a wide range of musical sounds. The versatility of synthesizers enables their widespread use in modern music.

Sources:

Rothstein, Joseph. MIDI: A comprehensive introduction. Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 1995.

“Sound synthesis tutorial”. University of Salford. 28 Apr 2010. .

“Synthesizers”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 29 Apr 2010. .

United States. General Services Administration. "Overtone." Federal Standard 1037c.  Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, n.d. Web. 2 May 2010.  fs-1037c.htm>.

Sexism speech

A speech written for an English assignment.

While the women’s rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are viewed as the end of gender inequality in the United States, sexism remains a powerful force in American society. While women now constitute the majority of the workforce, we still earn, on average, roughly eighty percent of what men earn. Gender inequality is not, however, restricted to the workplace; our society is filled with negative stereotypes of women and negative attitudes towards women. 

Negative portrayals of women have become ingrained in our minds and culture and affect the way many girls and women view themselves. Advertisements and the media in general constantly portray women as materialistic and argumentative, leading many girls and women to believe that they must embrace these traits to become “real” women. Advertising implies or even openly demonstrates that women are only good for their physical appearance; this idea is always seen in obvious advertising sectors, such as cosmetics and clothing, but can also be found in nearly every area of advertising that targets women. Rarely does an advertisement depict a woman in a traditional male role; this gender segregation enforces the underlying sexism of American society and discourages women from entering male-dominated fields such as math and science. The association of negative qualities with women affects men negatively as well; men are discouraged, through advertising and social pressure, to ignore the “feminine” ideals of “proper dress”, “hygiene”, and “intelligence”. For males, eschewing traditionally “feminine” qualities is celebrated; if a female, however, fails to conform to these qualities, her womanhood is instantly questioned or denied.

Women are pressured by the media and by society to conform to a set of “feminine” behaviors and ideals, which are more often than not the result of social construction rather than actual qualities of women. Women, according to the media, should have one of two body types; an impossibly thin waist in an exaggerated hourglass figure, or an impossibly thin body overall that borders on malnutrition. In addition to a perfectly successful full-time job, the ideal American woman should have perfect mental and physical health, a perfect family with perfect children, and a perfectly clean house. Women are also expected to serve as “goals” for men, whether sexually or romantically. Society’s emphasis on unrealistic ideals for women often leads to body image issues and eating disorders when women try to conform to those impossible ideals.

Despite its widespread negative effects, the media’s portrayal of women, whether negative or impossibly perfect, is widely accepted in American society. Often, this is because this portrayal reinforces traditional sexism and allows men to maintain social dominance when women are increasingly powerful within society. It is the duty of our generation to overcome these prejudices towards women and create a society that respects and accepts women; by toppling the established order of male social dominance and female inferiority, we will come one step closer to truly ending gender discrimination.

Ye Olde Buccaneer Lincoln

A DBQ that was boring enough to necessitate pirate speech.

The scurvy dog Abraham Lincoln’s views and actions regarrrdin’ slavarrry and arrbolition changed greatly over the course of his piratical carrreer. In his early piratical carrreer, he altarrnated between advocating the restriction of slavarrry to where it alrrready existed and advocating its arrbolition, dependin’ ‘pon his crew. During his plunderin’ for the presidency, ye old buccaneer Lincoln, while tellin’ some his desire for arrbolition, officially continued to press only for the restriction of slavarrry; while president, sought to use the issue to end the warrr as quickly as possible. These changes in ye old buccaneer Lincoln’s views were a product of his understanding of the effects of slavarrry and arrbolition on the nation, his piratical ambitions, and later, his duty to preserve ye olde ship the Union.


During his early piratical career, ye old buccaneer Lincoln openly advocated the restriction of slavarrry to its then-current extent but subtly advocated complete arrbolition. Ye old buccaneer Lincoln knew slavarrry to be the main rift between sections and stated that the resolution of the issue was vital to the survival of ye olde ship the Union. In the “House Divided” jabberin’, he notes that slavarrry would become eitharr entirely legal or entirely illegal within the United States, and then implies that those arrllowing for the spread of slavarrry (the Democrats) were in error morally, showing his personal preference for complete arrbolition. Ye old buccaneer Lincoln attempted to use the slavarrry issue to his advantage in his early career. In the ye old buccaneer Lincoln- the seadog Douglas debates of 1858, ye old buccaneer Lincoln repeatedly stated his aversion to slavarrry, while ensuring that he did not support complete racial equality. Following the extension of slavarrry into a previously free territory under the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, ye old buccaneer Lincoln used the potential threat of the spread of slavarrry into free states as a tool to incite anger against the Democrats and garner support for his party. Ye old buccaneer Lincoln, however, did not comprehend the aversion of the people to complete arrbolition or the piratical prowess of his seadog opponent and lost the 1858 Senate election.


During his presidential campaign and the early days of his presidency, ye old buccaneer Lincoln carefully advocated only the restriction of slavarrry to the areas where it already existed. ye old buccaneer Lincoln was aware of the impossibility of instant arrbolition due to the South’s reliance upon slavarrry (“Address at Cooper Institute”), and so sought to seek a gradual solution to the problem of slavarrry. He could not ignore the threat of Southern secession, and took care in his jabberins' of this period to emphasize that the Southerners’ constitutional rights would not be violated (as seen in both the Cooper Institute address and his First Inarrgural Address). In his First Inarrgural, he sought to reconcile the South and said that only with provocation would ye olde ship the Union move against them. Secession proved inevitable, and ye old buccaneer Lincoln, driven by his belief in preservation of ye olde ship the Union, sought to reverse it as soon as possible. He attempted to reason against the division of the nation in his Second Annual Message to Ye Olde Cap’n’s conference by showing the barriers to trade it created, and in the same jabberin’ attempted to entice the South into rejoining ye olde ship the Union by offerin’ doubloons to any state that freed their slaves before 1900. Such generous terms demonstrated Cap’n ye old buccaneer Lincoln’s desire to preserve ye olde ship the Union as peacefully as possible. His hopes of a quick end to the war proved impossible, however, as the Army of the Potomac faced minimal success in the eastern theatre of the war.


As the war dragged on, ye old buccaneer Lincoln realized that he needed to decide upon the question of slavarrry before the war could end. As late as August 1862, ye old buccaneer Lincoln was willing to address the slavarrry question in any way that would save ye olde ship the Union (“Letter to Horace Greeley”), but by 1863, he had recognized the necessity of arrbolition to ye olde ship the Union cause and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation became a source of inspiration for ye olde ship the Union and provided a new impetus for the war: to ensure human freedom. ye olde buccaneer Lincoln, in freeing the slaves of the rebelling states, set the nation on a path he had earlier predicted in the “House Divided” jabberin’; fortunately, ye olde ship the Union would become entirely free rather than entirely slave. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, ye old buccaneer Lincoln repeatedly referred to the struggle for human freedom in his jabberin’s. In the Gettysburg Address, he described ye olde ship the Union’s aims as “a new birth of freedom”, somewhat indirectly referencing emancipation, and in his Second Inarrgural, he decreed that ye olde ship the Union would fight until all the wealth earned through slavarrry was decimated if necessary. Emancipation became not only a key drive behind the war movement but also a key tenet of ye old buccaneer Lincoln’s philosophy when the war proved its inevitability.


Abraham ye old buccaneer Lincoln’s views toward slavarrry and arrbolition changed greatly throughout his career. He initially quietly supported arrbolition while publicly advocating the prevention of the spread of slavarrry. When ye old buccaneer, Lincoln ran for president, he supported only restricting the spread of slavarrry in an effort both to garner support of non-arrbolitionists and to attempt to prevent Southern secession. When it became evident that the question of slavarrry must be addressed before the war could end, ye old buccaneer Lincoln began to advocate arrbolition, which became a key issue driving the war. Ye old buccaneer Lincoln’s views changed according to his ambitions, his knowledge of the effects slavarrry and arrbolition had on the nation, and his sense of duty to preserve ye olde ship the Union.

Pesto and Baklava

This was a story I wrote a few years back as part of an assignment where we created our own myth. It's all about food. (note: Candpes is pronounced canned peas).

Pesto and Baklava were the twin children of the god of spices, Basil, and the goddess of sweets, Cacao. Pesto, the male twin, was renowned for his strength and exceptional sense of smell. He generally wore off-white tunics flecked with spots of green and carried a large knife, or sometimes a sword. Baklava was the female twin and was well known for her sweet, loving demeanor. Baklava wore many layers of clothing and often smelled of honey as she constantly was attending to beehives. Pesto and Baklava both were known for their astounding cooking ability and their extravagant adventures to find new ingredients.

The best-known adventure of Pesto and Baklava was their quest for the goat of Feta, known for the marvelous cheeses made from its milk. Pesto and Baklava wished to retrieve this goat as a gift for their cousin Spanikopita's birthday. However, this was no simple task. The goat was atop a distant mountain guarded by a dragon known as Broilur. The route to this mountain was also treacherous; Pesto and Baklava would have to fight the dreaded Candpes, a horrible, slimy, green monster and cross the river Ouzo, which constantly gave off intoxicating fumes. Early one spring morning, Pesto and Baklava set out for Feta, with Pesto clad in armor forged for his father by Hephaestus, and Baklava with a bow and arrow given to Cacao by Spanikopita's mother in their youth. Well prepared and well defended, their first challenge was to cross the river Ouzo. The intoxicatingly sweet fumes given off by the river were well known to entice men and women into jumping in; however, the river flowed so quickly that they were carried away instantly, never to be seen again. Pesto, knowing Baklava's love for all things sweet, warned her only to take shallow breaths and to hold each breath as long as possible. Baklava gladly accepted her brother's advice, and both twins inhaled as few of the fumes as possible. However, Baklava began taking deep breaths again before they were far enough from the river and would have jumped in had it not been for Pesto's quick thinking. He brought out honey Baklava had collected from the best beehive in all of Greece, and slowly drew her away from the river.

Pesto and Baklava, having passed the first challenge, set out again towards Feta, and every day grew closer to the dreaded Candpes. The Candpes, a disgusting, slimy, green blob instantly recovered from any blow dealt to it and so far, the dreaded monster had thwarted every adventurer seeking the goat of Feta. Pesto and Baklava, however, had formulated a brilliant plan; Pesto would attack the monster head on, and before the Candpes could recover, Baklava would shoot it from afar. However, when Pesto grew near the monster, the awful smell overcame him. Fortunately, he recovered quickly from this initial shock and quickly set their plan into action, allowing a speedy defeat of the Candpes. Shortly thereafter, Pesto and Baklava discovered the monster's treasure hoard, and were overjoyed to find large amounts of unknown spices. Pesto and Baklava each took enough treasure to supply the rest of their journey and left the remainder for later adventurers.

The final challenge Pesto and Baklava faced was the dragon Broilur. This dragon's fire was hotter than any other and was said to be able to melt any normal armor or weapon. Basil had foreseen this problem before Pesto and Baklava's departure, and asked Hephaestus to forge fireproof armor for him. The armor he gave to Pesto was just this armor, and Pesto had found a sword blackened by soot but not incinerated near the dragon's lair. Pesto and Baklava again devised a brilliant plan; Baklava would search for weak points from afar and send arrows to these points on the dragon to indicate where Pesto should attack. With Pesto's fireproof armor and sword and their ingenious strategy, Broilur was quickly defeated. Pesto and Baklava quickly retrieved the goat of Feta and returned home.

Pesto and Baklava arrived home a mere week before their cousin's birthday. They used this week to create fabulous new dishes using the spices they had found int he lair of Candpes. Pesto created a pasta dish with a strong herb he named basil in honor of his father, and Baklava created a dessert sweetened with honey and flavored with a spice she named cinnamon in honor of her best friend. Every guest at the banquet for Spanikopita adored the dishes, but Pesto and Baklava had neglected to name their creations. Eventually, the dishes became known as pesto and baklava in honor of their creators.