Social criticism through science fiction literature

Social criticism through science fiction literature Science fiction frequently involves social criticism. The use of social criticism is an author’s interest in addressing specific political, social, cultural, economic or religious issues in their work. When reading or critiquing these stories, it is necessary to see what the author might be saying about our lives, our society, our political and power relations, gender roles, or sexuality. Every author has a point to make, and may make use of social criticism as a means to this end. In the short story, â€Å"Baby, You Were Great!† by Kate Wilhelm, she employs one of the best ways to critique society, by playing with gender roles. This story was written in 1967, when sexism was rampant and her interpretation of women as commodities seems very timely. The story also works as a commentary on the future of media, celebrity, and the various forms of vicarious pleasure that can be acquired from our new technologies and the myriad fantasies that these technologies permit. Obviously, this story predates our current reality shows, which have become so popular. Nonetheless, it was a harbinger of things to come. This seems to be attributable to the universal human need to feel and experience novelty, and technology’s ability to allow humans to do so much more than their physical bodies may allow. Who doesn’t wonder what it is like to have some of the experiences that people have on these shows? Another, more obvious way that science fiction comments on society is through the relationship between man and technology. These stories are usually used to caution us against an over-dependence on technology. Humanity is seen as always searching for the next thing that can make our lives easier, but sometimes things can go radically wrong. For instance, in â€Å"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,† by Harlan Ellison, computers were created by humans to fight their wars. Somehow they join together into one linked and unified computer called AM, who discovers sentience. He quickly runs data to kill everyone on Earth except for five survivors with whom he plays out his sadistic and revenge-filled mind games. The goal of his game is not to actually kill them, but to torment them and to continue to torture them forever. Moreover, AM has acquired hatred for his creators. Obviously AM is only reflecting the traits that were inherent in the society that created him. The story demonst rates that there is a little piece of AM in all of us. AM is the watcher and Punisher. He is the terminator that cannot stop, for that is his job. The reader can feel and empathize with the survivor’s ongoing state of misery, apprehension and fear. In conclusion, the ending is pretty horrific with Ted ending up a slug-like, mouthless blob with no extremities. It is nice to know that Ted does care about the others because he frees them by killing them, leaving himself alone to face the music. The story shows us what we can look forward to if we choose to hand over our choices and our control, to the semi-sentient machine of government. This whole catastrophe happened due to a global world war. It is a warning as valid today as it was when this story was written, back when people realized that we should not be in Vietnam and anti-war sentiment had finally begun to spread on a mass scale. We lost that one too. Finally, Harlan Ellison comments on social control and regulation in the short story â€Å"Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman, which was published in 1965. The story describes the Marxist perspective of the inherent class warfare and contradictions that are part and parcel of a society subjugated and oppressed by a dominant ruling class. In any class society, there will be a dominant ideology, made up of the ideas and institutions which favor the ruling class. Ticktockman and Harlequin personify the struggles between law and order and personal freedom, as well as the paramount conflict between forced discipline and creative individuality. Specifically, it seems to have been written to protest the rigid bureaucracy ruled by an equally unfeeling social elite. It shows what can happen in the future if the world resorts to coerced labor forces and obsession with time. People then were already addicted to mass consumption and many countries were/are under totalitarian rule. At the e nd of the story, it is ironic that Ticktockman is even guilty of not being on time. The Harlequin is the solitary person who refuses to be controlled. Indeed, disruptive and rebellious, Harlequin is the obvious deviant because he is the only human being who goes against the powers that be. In short, the theme of the story basically shows how useless protest usually is in achieving social change. Only the great, tragic, jelly bean showering clown had the guts to go against the status quo of the government, only to be forcibly reprocessed by the ruling hierarchy and forced into conformity. All three stories exemplify the authors’ use of particular social issues to comment on and criticize many of man’s ongoing dilemmas that underscore the volatile state of the world and our place in it. Of particular importance is how we treat one another in a world so obsessed with consumerism, sex, power, and money. It is time for a reassessment of what is truly important as we trudge into an uncertain future. Question 3 During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States was in the midst of the Cold War with Russia, also known also as the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Americans had a fear of the communist regime taking over the U.S. Senator McCarthy investigated government employees and the Hollywood film industry in search of communist sympathizers. America had also gone to war with Korea, and the Vietnam War was spiraling out of control. In addition, the Soviets had launched Sputnik, so we were rivals in many areas. Subsequently, these mostly unfounded fears spurred conservatism and the compromising of many civil liberties. Many of the science fiction stories played on these fears. According to many people, the 1950s and 1960s is when science fiction â€Å"grew up.† I concur with this assessment. During the 1950s, science fiction was finally getting some respect by literary scholars. People were beginning to see that science fiction fantasy was actually becoming scientific fact. Many inventions which had been predicted in earlier pulp novels, such as the atomic bomb, transistor radios, ATM’s, the computer mouse, and television were now a reality. With the coming of the 1960s a radical change, known as the New Wave, took place in science fiction. These stories were about everyday people being influenced by science and concerned itself more with sex and violence than with the science itself. Without a doubt, it was a reaction against earlier science fiction. This New Wave created a more urbane and metaphoric style of science fiction much different from the past. Also, during this time, America was going through a cultural revolution known as the â€Å"Psychedelic Sixties.† Young people broke society’s rules in every imaginable way, especially through rock music and fashion. They rejected the establishments mores and manners. The hippie counter-culture was born. They were embracing new ideas, thoughts, and inspiration from the world around them because they had grown up in a changing society influenced now by drugs, as well as science and technology. They saw the first space flights and watched as the first man walked on the moon. Thus, science fiction matured along with society, incorporating these new influences which now appealed to adults, not just kids. Based on what we have read so far, I am in total agreement with the notion that it was during this time period that science fiction â€Å"grew up.† In short, these last series of stories demonstrate this maturation process. Stories such as â€Å"Baby, You Were Great,† which dealt with sexism, reflected the 1960s women’s rights movement, and the changing cultural and social climate of that era. Repent, Harlequin! Said The Ticktockman,† by Harlan Ellison, can be seen to epitomize the young hippies and other young adults’ aversion to being forced to be puppets of the ruling elite and drafted into the military as agents in a war they did not believe in. According to Timothy Leary, people were advised to Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Out. That is what the Harlequin did, but to no avail. Like the hippies, he succumbed to the powers that be. At least he valiantly tried, and who doesn’t like a clown?

The I Am Sayings Of Jesus Religion Essay

The I Am Sayings Of Jesus Religion Essay There are seven statements in the book of John in which Jesus says, I am something. In this essay I will look at the list of the seven statements and I will begin with Jesus saying I am the light of the world. Throughout this essay, I plan to cover each of these sayings of Jesus separately and I will attempt to give a brief discussion on each of them. Each proclamation reveals the different facets of Jesus and gives a different sense of understanding, but, overall, all sum up the revelation of who Jesus is. Further I will look at why these statements are significant to our salvation. These statements are as follows: I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the true vine I am the way, the truth and the life I am the bread of life and, lastly, I am the door. I am Light of the world. John 8:12. John 8:12 proclaims the words of Jesus saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. There are many who follow false light that eventually leads to devastation; but the truth is found only in Christ. Eternal salvation should be our ultimate goal in life and Jesus is the only light that leads to a life of fulfillment. There was a strong opposition that came from the Pharisees against the claims of Jesus, they did not believe in His proclamation as the light of the world. They took him as one of those bubblers who did not know what He was saying. The word light here is used as a metaphor and it is repeatedly quoted throughout the Bible. The representation here is of Jesus being the truth. In other words if the Pharisees reject Him, then they are actually rejecting the truth, and because they reject the truth, then they walk in darkness. Therefore, they do not know who they are and were they are going as they are in darkness without Jesus. Just like the story of the adulteress woman, she lived in sin for many years and one day she was caught red handed in the very act. Then the Scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and said to Him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, and according to the Law of Moses, such deserve to be stoned to death. So the Scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and said to Him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say? Jesus stooped down then later answered them saying if there is any among you without sin, let them be the first to throw a stone at her. Realizing their own wrongs, they began to leave one by one until they were all gone and the woman was left alone. Then Jesus said to the woman, has any one condemned you? she replied by saying, no one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more. In this story we see that Jesus is the light of the world and indeed He is the truth. The accusers of the woman were convicted because the light was shown in their hearts and they saw their own sinfulness. Therefore the world is lost without Jesus. Darkness controls us and unless the light of Jesus shines upon us, we can see the truth. But while we have the light, we must believe in the light, that we may become children of the light (John 12:36). The light here signifies Jesus and that without Jesus in us and leading us, we walk in darkness and are lost. I am the good shepherd. John 10:11 Jesus said I am the Good Shepherd. Those who come before me are robbers and thieves and my sheep do not hear them. The shepherd who takes care of his flock and gives his life for the sheep is the good shepherd and not a hireling. The sheep hear his voice and he calls them by name and they follow him. And Jesus claimed Himself to be the good shepherd. The Jews actually thought He has a demon and is mad. This did not stop Jesus continuing His proclamation as the good shepherd. Sheep without a shepherd will be scattered and lost. For they know the voice of the and when he calls they hear him. The voice of a stranger, they do not hear. When its night time and the sheep are in, the shepherd guards the doorway. If a hireling tries to enter, the shepherd would defend his sheep by fighting back, to the extent of willing to lay down his own life for the sake of the sheep.  The fact that there is only one door to the sheepfold, the enemy cannot enter the sheepfold except through him. This is the sacrificial duty of every good shepherd, who is willing to lay down his life for the sake of the sheep. Jesus is our great shepherd; there will never be anyone like Him, willing to lay down His life for our protection. The shepherd had the right to lay down his life to purchase His flock. Jesus is the best of shepherds, none so skillful, so faithful, and so tender, as He. I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:25-26). This is a proclamation that should settle our fear of death once and for all. Jesus declared Himself as the very essence of existence. In other words He is existence Himself and that apart from Him none can exist in this age and the age to come. Simply put, everything culminates in Him and everything holds together in Him. Jesus indicates that if He would let go of His hold on us, we would be nonexistent instantly. This deeply reveals our desperate need of Him because He holds us together. This is beautifully illustrated in the death of Lazarus. When Jesus was told about Lazarus death, He did not panic as we would definitely. He was inexplicably calm such that He went about doing what He was doing even after hearing such heart breaking news. For He said to the disciples, Lazarus is sleeping but I go to wake Him up, they said if he is sleeping, then he will get well. Jesus knowing that they did not understand, He emphatically told them that Lazarus is dead. He then said that this is for the glory of God and that the Son of Man may be glorified in this. Later when Jesus met Martha, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Martha cried to Jesus after he finally came, that if had come early, and his brother would not have died. In contrast, Jesus said to her, your brother will live again. But Martha did not understand what Jesus was saying. Jesus said to them that if they would believe, then they would see the glory of God. In this story, Jesus demonstrated His resurrection power, showing that there was nothing He could not do. Jesus is the power of our salvation, He brings new life to the dead spiritually. By the mercies of God, how can the world ignore a person like this? I am the true vine. John 15: 1-6 Jesus declared that He is the true vine and His Father is the gardener. That He is the vine and we are the branches, therefore when we remain in Him and Him in us, then we bear much fruit. The branch that does not produce fruit, He takes away but the branch that bears fruit, He prunes so that it can produce more fruit. Like a tree and its branches, it is virtually impossible for the branches to be cut and expect them to live. The food of the branches flows through the trunk of the tree from the roots. Therefore if the branches are cut off, then there much needed nourishment is cut off as well and the branches wither and die. In the same respect, Jesus is our vine and we are His branches, we feed from Him, our lives are healthy because of Him. If we are cut off, like the branches of a tree, we wither and die. Jesus said that when we abide in the word and the word abides in us, anything is possible when we ask. Therefore we need the word of God in us and if the word dwells in us and we embrace it wholeheartedly, then and only then are we able to be productive to the glory of God. The scriptures say, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The scriptures also say that when the word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The faith by which we received the word of Jesus purifies our hearts. The word refines us from the dross of the world and the flesh because it is a cleaning virtue. I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6. In this verse Jesus said that no one comes to the Father except through him, no one knows the Father except through him and no one lives the life of the Father except through him. In this passage of scripture, Jesus emphatically says that no one goes to the Father nor sees the Father except through me. One day Thomas said to Jesus, Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way. And Jesus answered saying, You know me and you know my father also and from today you know Him and have seen Him. By this saying He meant if we see Him then we have seen the Father for the Father and the Son are one. What is truth? And what is a lie? Jesus called the devil a liar and the Father of lies. And that he speaks lies from his resources and that he is a liar from the beginning. Jesus is often quoted as saying, I tell you the truth He always told the truth because He is truth and He is true in every way. Grace and truth came with Jesus for it is said that, we have seen his glory, the glory of the Son of God, full of truth and grace (John 1:14) I am the Bread of Life. John 6:35 Jesus said, I am the Bread of life. He said that you go to buy bread that does not last, for after you eat it, you hunger again for more bread. Come and eat my bread and you will not hunger again and it is free. He also said to the Samaritan woman, come and drink my water and you will never thirst again. Not understanding what He meant, she said the well is deep, how can you give me water when you do not have something to draw water with. Jesus corrects her by saying, I am your well, and when you come and drink of me, you will never thirst again. The water from Jesus will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Like the Samaritan woman, Jesus was on several occasions misunderstood by people, for instance, He tells His followers that if they eat His meat, then they have eaten meat indeed and if they drink His blood, they have drunk drink indeed. His followers were so confused about what He meant such that they decided to walk away and thought amongst themselves that, He must be mad, how can we eat of His flesh and drink His blood? Most of the disciples turned and walked away from Jesus. However, how many times do we misunderstand Him today? We sometimes think we know, yet we do not. Jesus also fed the five thousand people that followed Him. He took a boys lunch, only five small loaves of bread and two small fish. He had the crowd sit down and He took the bread and fish; He gave thanks for the food, and then gave it out to the people. By a miracle hand of God, He multiplied the food such that there was more than enough for over 5000 people. During the night, Jesus walks on the water, gets into the boat and arrives at Capernaum. The next day, the people realize that Jesus is not there but do not understand how he left. They get into boats and travel to Capernaum and find Jesus there. They ask him, When did you come here? Jesus replies to them that the reason they are seeking him is because they want more food. The people asked how they can do that and Jesus tells them that they must believe in the one that God has sent. In other words, Jesus wanted them not only to follow Him for physical food that does not last but for food that is everlasting. And that is only accomplished by believing that Jesus Christ was sent from God and that He is the true bread of life and those who partake of Him will never hunger again. I am the door John 10:1-10 Jesus said, I am the door, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture. Jesus said this to emphasis a point about who He is. During the time of Jesus, animals were kept in sheep folds and these sheep folds had only one door for animals to go in and out. They would have a wall either built with stones or made from branches and they would be completely closed except for one entrance where the sheep went in and out. Usually the entrance would not have a gate across it but would simply be a gap. But at night when the sheep were in the pen, the shepherd himself would lie across the entrance. So this made shepherd himself to become the gate to the sheep fold. By lying across the entrance the shepherd could keep close watch on the sheep and protect them from any intruder or hireling that may threaten to attack the sheep. The Pharisees seem to prove his point when Jesus gives them this illustration and once again they just dont understand what He means. So Jesus makes it plain to them when He tells them in verse seven saying I am the door of the sheep. Jesus makes this even clearer in verse nine when He says If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. So this is not as complicated as the Pharisees made it out to be. This is what John has been trying to let us know all the way through this gospel. The Jews had long understood that the Messiah would bring salvation. The coming of the Messiah was something they looked forward to. CONCLUSION The conclusion of the matter would therefore seem to say that, Jesus is throughout the gospel of John trying to reveal who He is. Though He is misquoted and misunderstood on several occasions, He still does not give up the sole task of trying to reveal why He is here on earth. The evidence of His arguments and statements prove this point. For He repeatedly says, I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, I am the bread of life and that I am the door. In all these I am sayings, Jesus is attempting to drive home the central idea that no one can be saved except through Him. He is not only our way to salvation but He is our salvation. Therefore to reject Him is as good as rejecting the very power of salvation.

Peirce, Thirdness and Pedagogy :: Philosophy Education Teaching Learning Papers

Peirce, Thirdness and Pedagogy It is well known that the word pedagogy comes from the Greek paidagogos (teacher, pedagogue) which has the same root as paideia, usually translated "culture." The theme of this congress highlights the hope of many teachers of philosophy, that their teaching and writing has some impact on the culture. In this paper I want to show a connection between a Peircean understanding of persons (as interpreted by Royce) and its implications for how we go about conducting classes in philosophy. This connection is very recent with me, and it has changed my approach to teaching, especially at the "introductory" level. Our line of thought will have three major phases: 1) the Peircean understanding of persons as members of a community of interpretation; 2) its implications for a theory of pedagogy which emphasizes "induction into" more than "introduction to" the subject; and 3) the specific techniques that I have adopted in introductory classes to enact this theory of pedagogy. At the outset I should say that at least half of my teaching is at the introductory level, with classes ranging from 30 to 50 students each. It is these students, most of whom will not take any more philosophy, that I am most concerned about in this paper. How can their one exposure to academic philosophy convince them that it is a vital part of their heritage and a cultural resource that is absolutely necessary to a healthy society? Especially if a course is historically oriented, as ours is by catalogue description, it is easy for students to feel that philosophy is the irrelevant meanderings of dead white males! Good teaching can overcome this in some measure, but I believe that a Peircean understanding of persons can lead us to a theory of pedagogy that directs us towards the kind of classroom practices that will make the experience of philosophy more vital and significant for our students. I. Peirce, Thirdness, and Personhood Every philosophy of education in informed, at least implicitly, by a notion of personhood. Peirce focused more explicitly on epistemological understandings than personhood, but his epistemological writings supplied perspectives which were used by Josiah Royce in his last major work, The Problem of Christianity, to formulate a notion of the self as a member of a "community of interpretation." In his discussion of this concept, Royce was explicit about his debt to Peirce, especially Peirce’s notion of "thirdness.

Smoking Cigarettes Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Example Essays

Why Smoking is Hazardous Essay written by Ren M.Chu Hi I’m here today to tell you the dangers of smoking. Smoking is one of the most preventable causes of death in our society. About one in five deaths in the US are results from using tobacco. About half all of smokers between of 35 and 69 die ahead of time the new smokers replace them. Smokers could be losing an average of 20 to 25 years of their life. Sometime I’m around an adult that smokes and when he smokes, it makes the house smell awful. I have many reasons to why I think this. It gives you aliment, shortens your life, can affect others around you and yourself. Every time you smoke, it’s like cutting 5 minutes of your life and there are many ways to quit. About 430,000 people in the US die every year from smoking related problems...

Milgrams The Perils of Obedience Essay -- Psychology

Milgram's The Perils of Obedience Obedience is the requirement of all mutual living and is the basic element of the structure of social life. Conservative philosophers argue that society is threatened by disobedience, while humanists stress the priority of the individuals' conscience. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, designed an experiment that forced participants to either violate their conscience by obeying the immoral demands of an authority figure or to refuse those demands. Milgram's study, reported in "The Perils of Obedience" suggested that under a special set of circumstances the obedience we naturally show authority figures can transform us into agents of terror or monsters towards humanity. The experiment consists of two people that take part in a study of memory learning, one of them referred to as the "Teacher" and the other as the "Learner." The experimenter explains that the study's main goal is to observe the effect of punishment on learning. The learner will be seated in something similar to the electric chair, his arms will be strapped and an electrode will be attached to his wrist. The learner will be told that he will be tested on his ability to remember the second word of a pair when he hears the first one again. If he makes a mistake, he will then receive electric shocks of increasing intensity. The real focus of the experiment is the teacher. He will be in charge of a shock generator. The teacher does not know that the learner, supposedly the victim, is actually an actor who receives no shock whatsoever. Again this experiment is to see if the teacher proceeds with the shocks that are ordered to inflict increasing pain on a protesting victim. Milgram's first subject, Gretchen Brant showed th... ...enter. Although Bruno Batta had some difficulty understanding what to do, he after showed that he indeed appreciated help and was then willing to do what was required from the experimenter. When the learner in this case complained, Mr. Batta showed no signs of attention or disturbance whatsoever. At the end of the experiment he told the experimenter that he had been honored to be part of it. He showed no remorse. Milgram answers the question of why this problem occurred in our pasts, for example during the Holocaust, and still occurs within ourselves. The experiment unfortunately illustrates that it is easy to ignore responsibility when one is only a link in a chain of action in a multifaceted society. People feel is their duty or their job to obey an authority figure without realizing that nobody can make another individual do something they feel is not right.

Describe and Explain the Violence of WW2 on the Eastern Front Essay

Describe and explain the violence of WW2 on the Eastern Front War on the Eastern Front was merciless and ruthless. It was fuelled by both racism and ideology, and driven by two dictators Hitler and Stalin. The Nazis wanted to extend their territory at the expense of the Russian citizens, abolish communism and exterminate Jews. In this essay I will describe and explain the violence on the eastern Front, the extreme violence during the war such as the siege of Stalingrad and the violence against civilians, for example massacres, burning of lands, attacking of villages, etc†¦ Hitler wanted to expand the German territory, therefore in June 1941, he invaded the Soviet Union in an attack names Operation Barbarossa. He was expecting the Russians to give in and to have a Blitzkrieg (Lightning war). He had not anticipated the Russian resistance and the winter, which was very harsh), and that Stalin’s regime was brutal and efficient. Moreover, the USA sent money and supplies to the Russian army to help. In May 1941, an order was issued to the German army to kill all political leaders and officials without any process or consideration. After the advance of the operation Barbarossa an operations group named Einsatzgruppen, consisting of police launched a crusade against all Jews and communists. Due to the Nazi ideology their goal was to exterminate them. Hitler succeeded in killing 2 million people, including women and children in this way. In June 1941, Stalin gave orders to fight to the last drop of blood. He wanted his people to fight and resist or if they could not, then to destroy all of their food and goods. This left the Germans (and left over civilians) starving as they advanced. In December 1941, the soviets launched a counter-attack on Stalingrad and the Germans found themselves besieged in the freezing cold winter. Neither Hitler not Stalin wanted to give in as their hatred for each other was so strong and their ideologies completely opposed. As a result 300000 German solders got trapped in the ruined city of Stalingrad, in a siege that lasted 163 days. Most froze or starved to death. By the end of January 1943 the Germans could do nothing else but surrender. World War 2 was a very violent war, especially on the Eastern Front where the Nazis confronted the Soviets from 1941 to 1945. It was so bloody and cruel because of the absolute power that both Stalin and Hitler held, and their ideological positions.

Mr. Mallard’s Story of an Hour Essay

Experimental procedures where destined to be made about the emotion filled story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin. The story details Mrs. Mallard’s situation about how she feels about her husband and the result when she finds that he is not dead. Kate Chopin does a great job telling the reader Mrs. Mallard’s feeling’s, but not at all tells the reader about Mr. Mallard’s point of view. I will be creating a point of view for Mr. Mallard to try and get a better understanding of what could have been the situation between the two. Since the very day I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one for me. Her beautiful smile and her ecstatic personality made me come to realize that, I had to claim what was spiritually mine. Her name was Louis, a creative and ambitious young woman. All throughout my days of monitoring her every motion, I gained the courage to grow out of my shy state, and make my approach towards her. So from that point on we started engaging in conversation and growing closer to each other day after day. It seemed as if time had flown by faster than it had ever done before in my life. It came to the point that I loved this woman so much; all of my hard earned money I made from my small job down at the local grocery store in town, I took it upon myself to buy a wedding ring. So then I asked her for her hand in marriage, and ever so joyously she replied with such excitement in her voice, yes! Immediately, tears started rolling down my face and all of my best memories were erased, in storing the special memory that took place that very day. We had a simple but elegant wedding ceremony in the local chapel that she and I were both attending previously. â€Å"Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, I now pronounce you husband and wife. The moment I heard those very words, is when I knew I had accomplished my life goal at being happy. She had gone all around town screaming to her family that she is married now and that she will forever be happy for as long as she lives. I took it that we would always be united as one, and that nothing could ever come between the love we both shared. Several years went past and Louise and I seemed to be doing very well in our marriage. I had given her all of me and it seemed that she had given me all of her as well, but I would get an internal feeling that she was not happy in our marriage. Adding up reasons of why she may be unhappy with how things were going, it just did not seem to add up. It had dawned upon me that maybe she did not want to be with me anymore. Personality wise, she had become the total opposite. Before we got married she was kind, passionate, and had a smile that was golden; then she started to grow silent and mean towards me and others around her. For a while I blamed myself for reasons that seemed to be undeserving, and thought that I mistreated her in some unknown way. Unfortunately, Louise was found to have a very bad heart problem and often times she would blame me for her misfortune. As a caring man I would just accept the blame and try to do anything possible to try to make her forget about the condition and live her life fully. My plan always appeared to not succeed and I grew tired of the mistreatment that I clearly did not deserve. I took matters into my own hands and came up with a plan that would determine just how much she felt about me. I came across the daily paper and read about a local railroad disaster that left a number of people dead and injured. My good friend Richards was the side kick in the situation, I had him tell Louise’s sister, Josephine, that my name was on the death list and that she should tell Louise immediately. After receiving notice that my plan was fulfilled, I began to observe Louise’s reactions towards the situation. I hid in the main bedroom closet in a secret passage way that I created for emergency situations years ago. I heard Louise come in crying and sobbing about the news, I became excited that she was crying over my so called death and I felt that she did still love me very much. Hours went past and I became comfortable with the results that I got in my little experiment, but little did I know, Louise became happy with my death and stated that she was â€Å"free† numerous times to herself really loud and joyously. Very confused I asked myself how she switched feelings so quickly and how could she be happy about the situation. She would talk to herself very in-depth about how her life is now that she is independent and fantasizing about all of the days and years to herself that she wanted for so long. I felt so crushed inside because I had given her any and everything that she could possibly want. I took care of her when she was sick, made all of her wishes come true, and took it upon myself to do anything to make her smile. Why she would treat me this way, I asked myself over and over until I became fed up with it. When Louise went to the bathroom I snuck over to Richards’s house and told him what all I found out about and wanted to give her the news that I was not dead. Richards and I walked over back to the house to tell Louise that I was mistakenly put on the death list, and that I was indeed very much alive. I waited outside and let Richards go in the house first to make the plan free of suspicion and got ready to make my approach inside. Boom Boom! My heart was beating very loudly as I was nervous to go inside. I opened the door and Josephine is first to see me; she screams very loudly in shock of my appearance. Richards tries very hard to prevent Louise from seeing me, but was too late in the action. Louise dropped to the floor immediately and had no sign of life in her. I ran to her to see if she was ok holding her very tight, screaming for someone to call the doctor. The doctor arrived within twenty minutes, after only observing her for five minutes he pronounced her dead due to a heart attack. Tears ran down my face as if someone had poured a bucket of water on my head. I began to feel guilty for her death thinking maybe she would still be alive if I had never made that stupid plan in the first place. Thought maybe if I had known how she really felt, I would have just let her be free from me and live her life happily instead of me standing in her way. I learned a very important lesson that day; things in life should not be taken for granted no matter how much you want it to go your way.