Charles Darwin’s Changing Religious Beliefs Throughout His Life - Literature Essay Samples

The term â€Å"agnostic† defines as a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God. Many individuals over the course of history have assumed this mindset in place of believing in religion, as they were unable to come to any sort of conclusion regarding the presence of a celestial being. One such person who identified as agnostic was Charles Darwin, the renowned scientist who wrote many highly acclaimed texts on various subjects and did extensive research on the ideas of evolution and natural selection. This was not always his religious stance, however. His life, as portrayed in The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, documents this very idea, particularly the â€Å"Religious Beliefs† chapter of the book. Many researchers and Darwin enthusiasts have also written scholarly essays on the subject matter. A deep analysis of this text and the essays prove that Charles Darwin’s beliefs changed dramatically over the course of h is life due to many of his findings and contemplations. Charles Darwin’s religious beliefs as a child and young man were extraordinarily different from those of his later life. As a young boy, he grew up a member of the Church of England and even attended an institution of the church. He was not enthused about school work, so Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh University in October of 1825, where he studied with his older brother. He went with the intention of pursuing a degree in medicine, but he was not well suited to this career. His father then suggested that he become a clergyman. This shows the true starting point of Darwin’s religious journey. Darwin liked this idea (with the exception of declaring his beliefs in the dogmas of the Church of England) and proceeded to read divine books carefully. He stated in his Autobiography, â€Å"I did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible, I soon persuaded myself that our creed must be fully accepted† (49). He was extre mely devout and considered himself to be well suited for the job. He held the Bible in very high regard and truly believed in the sacred text. He had yet to realize how senseless it was to say that he believed fully in what he later considered to be â€Å"illogical† and â€Å"unintelligible† (49). In order to pursue his degree, he attended the University of Cambridge. There, he was filled with a zeal for science through his studies of beetles, yet he still didn’t consider a scientific profession and remained deeply religious. Darwin’s journey aboard the HMS Beagle was a crucial component of his religious transition after he left Cambridge University. Though many conclude that he started his voyage with already changed beliefs, this simply was not the case. He was invited to sail with captain Robert Fitz-Roy who was looking for a naturalist to join him on the five-year scientific voyage because of his affinity for traveling and geology. However, Darwin was a devoted orthodox member of the Anglican church, and becoming a clergyman was still a viable option for him. He had not yet gone through any religious shift and was not aware of his future stance on the topic. In fact, according to Frank Burch Brown’s essay entitled The Evolution of Darwin’s Theism, Darwin’s uncle suggested to Darwin that he should be allowed to pursue the voyage on account that â€Å"the enterprise would not in the future be ‘in any degree disrespectable to his character as a Clergyman,’ the pursuit of natural history being ‘very suitable for one of that profession’† (3). With the blessing of his uncle and his father, he heartily embraced the idea of traveling with Fitz-Roy. Brown also raises the point that the idea of uniting a parish ministry with natural science was particularly appealing to Darwin, as it was suggested to him by Reverend John Stevens Henslow. Henslow, an extremely religious man who studied geology and botany, was one of Darwin’s professors at the University of Cambridge, whom he held in extremely high regard. Like Darwin in his younger years, Henslow also believed every word of the Bible to be the truth, despite being a man of science. Clearly, Darwin hardly started his journey believing in anything other than Christianity, and he hardly went for serious scientific purposes. In university, Darwin also found immense satisfaction of the works of William Paley, another highly religious man, who wrote the book Natural Theology. John Hedley Brooke provides some valuable insight into this in his essay, Charles Darwin on Religion. Darwin was engrossed in Paley’s descriptions of the adaptations of nature in relation to creation. Brooke states that based off of this, it is evident that Darwin truly believed in the idea that nature was made by a divine creator, and it was with this mindset that he began his historic voyage. Darwin’s religious mentality changed drastically upon actually traveling on the Beagle and later while pondering the voyage. In the Autobiography, he described the voyage as â€Å"by far the most important event of my life and has determined my whole career† and â€Å"the first real training or education of my mind† (64). His love for science grew immensely over the five-year trip and he found pleasure in observing and reasoning. His discoveries regarding his opinions on religion, however, were far greater than any others. One such example is pointed out by Brooke in Charles Darwin on Religion, and that is that â€Å"he witnessed a degree of violence and instability in nature that jarred with the stable, â€Å"happy world† of William Paley’s Natural Theology† (68). Paley’s descriptions were once enthralling to Darwin, and to see them disproven was a large step in his journey out of Christianity. On the voyage, he also observed people o f many different nations and their religious beliefs. Seeing this made him contemplate the validity of religions, both the popular and the niche. This intense contemplation of the world’s religions that he saw on his trip is another key factor in Darwin’s shifting beliefs. Primarily, he began to view the Old Testament as false information. In the Autobiography, he revealed that he often asked himself, â€Å"is it credible that if God were now to make a revelation to the Hindoos, would he permit it to be connected with the belief in Vishnu, Siva, c., as Christianity is connected with the Old Testament,† and said that this idea is â€Å"utterly incredible† (71). He continued to reflect and came to realize the incredibility of miracles in relation to the laws of nature, the ignorance of man, and the lack of details and witnesses in Christian gospels. Because of these ideas, Darwin simply could not hold his previous religious beliefs. In the Autobiography, Darwin described the transition as happening very slowly, and in his article Darwin and Religion, John C. Green explains that it is because of the sl owness of the process that Darwin â€Å"never felt that deep anguish of the spirit to which Christianity ministers† (716). In other words, abandoning Christianity was relatively painless for Darwin, as he had plenty of time to process his actions. In his musings in the Autobiography, Darwin also contemplates the relationship between pain and pleasure in nature, and how that relates to religion. It was a brief, but fundamental observation that aided his transition. He could not see the presence of an omnipresent being in the everyday pain and struggle of certain species. He explained that the organs of animals were developed through natural selection rather than by a creator so that the animals that possess them are able to compete with other beings and increase their numbers. To Darwin, the theory of natural selection provided evidence of adaptation, but removed the idea of design and creation. Darwin revealed that animals choose to pursue life and adaptation through either suffering (pain, hunger, thirst, fear), pleasure (eating and drinking), or both (searching for food). Pleasure serves as a guide to most species for a variety of variables. However, there is still much suffering in the world that isn’t disputed, mo stly occurring in lower species. They often suffer without improvement, and Darwin argued that â€Å"a being so powerful and so full of knowledge as a God who could create the universe, is to our finite minds omnipotent and omniscient, and it revolts our understanding to suppose there be in sufferings of millions of the lower animals throughout almost endless time?† (75) In saying this, he was wondering how God could possibly have created the world with as much suffering that there is. If God were to be prevalent in nature, it would not be like this, as the Bible claims that everything God touches is good. By this time, Darwin was skeptical of religion, but he could not place his faith exactly. His religious transition came to a standstill. He speculated that if all men believed in the same God and method of creation, religion would be more valid. This uniformity is extraordinarily far from the case; however, and that is why forming a conclusion was so difficult for him. He explained that the feeling in his mind that was connected with the idea of God didn’t really differ from sublimity. Darwin also couldn’t comprehend one being having the ability to conceive the universe and every necessity it has. However, he still believed in the existence of some sort of creator. This creator, according to him, would have an intelligent mind similar to that of man. Thus, Darwin labeled himself as a Theist. He thought that religion was a tribal survival strategy; however, he still believed that God is the ultimate lawgiver. This belief was particularly strong when he wrote Origin of Sp ecies, but it fluctuated greatly and eventually became weaker. The idea of Theism was not quite right for Darwin, however, and his beliefs shifted farther. A question was aroused in his mind: â€Å"can the mind of man, which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animal be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions?† (77) This question is a profound one, and Darwin simply did not have a concrete answer. He explicitly stated in the Autobiography, â€Å"I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. The mystery of the beginning of all things in insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic† (78). He had his beliefs on why Christianity isn’t superior, most of which revolved around the fact that he could not comment on many profound questions regarding the existence of a supreme power. According to scholar Howard Gruber, Darwin became a complete agnostic in 1840. With his new conclusion in mind, Darwin pondered his status and examined how it affected himself and the world around him. He stated that a man who does not believe in God has complete control of his life and can follow whatever impulses he pleases. People, unlike animals, analyze and compare their feelings, desires, and recollections. It is crucial for them to find which of these will provide the highest amount of satisfaction. He went on to say that if they behave for the good of others, they will gain love and approbation which he deemed as the highest pleasure on earth. Sometimes reason tells humans to act in opposition to the opinions of others, which will cause them to lack approbation, but will then gain them the satisfaction of knowing that they pursued their own desires. Darwin himself followed the procedure of acting in opposition, and had no regrets in devoting his life to science. Through analyzing his life, the grand nature of Charles Darwin’s religious shift becomes evident. He started his childhood and early adult life as a deeply religious being, progressed to becoming a Theist, and eventually proclaimed himself an agnostic. His voyage on the HMS Beagle was a truly eye-opening experience for him, and his accounts in the Autobiography allow for a unique perspective of his own opinions of the transition. Although his religious stance was an unpopular one for his time, Darwin’s agnostic beliefs were vastly beneficial to the fields of science, psychology, and sociology. He was able to make critical discoveries regarding the topics of natural selection, the origin of life, and evolution without the mental and physical obstacle of religion. The insight provided from this work was invaluable to the progression of science and life on Earth. The entire human population is indebted to Charles Darwin for his work and his audaciousness in converting out of religion.

Understanding the Bible Belt in the United States

When American geographers map rates of religious belief and regular attendance at places of worship, a distinct region of religiosity appears on the map of the United States. This region is known as the Bible Belt, and while it can be measured in a variety of ways, it tends to include much of the American South.   First Use of Bible Belt The term Bible Belt was first used by the American writer and satirist H.L. Mencken  in 1925 when he was reporting on the Scopes Monkey Trial which took place in Dayton, Tennessee. Mencken was writing for the Baltimore Sun  and used the term in a derogatory way, referring to the region in subsequent pieces with such quotes as the Bible and Hookworm Belt and Jackson, Mississippi in the heart of the Bible and Lynching Belt.   Defining The Bible Belt The term gained popularity and began to be used to name the region of the southern U.S. states in the popular media and in academia. In 1948, the Saturday Evening Post  named Oklahoma City the capital of the Bible Belt. In 1961, geographer Wilbur Zelinsky, a student of Carl Sauer, defined the region of the Bible Belt as one in which Southern Baptists, Methodists, and evangelical Christians were the predominant religious group. Thus, Zelinsky defined the Bible Belt as a region stretching from West Virginia and southern Virginia to southern Missouri in the north to Texas and northern Florida in the south. The region that Zelinsky outlined did not include Southern Louisiana due to its preponderance of Catholics, nor central and southern Florida due to its diverse demographics, nor South Texas with its large Hispanic (and thus Catholic or Protestant) population.   History of the Bible Belt The region known as the Bible Belt today was in the 17th and 18th centuries a center of Anglican (or Episcopalian) beliefs. In the late 18th century and into the 19th century, Baptist denominations, especially Southern Baptist, began to gain in popularity. By the 20th century, evangelical Protestantism could be the defining belief system in the region known as the Bible Belt.   In 1978, geographer Stephen Tweedie of Oklahoma State University published the definitive article about the Bible Belt, Viewing the Bible Belt, in the  Journal of Popular Culture.  In that article, Tweedie mapped Sunday television watching habits for five leading evangelical religious television programs. His map of the Bible Belt expanded the region defined by Zelinsky and included a region that encompassed the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. But his research also broke the Bible Belt into two core regions, a western region and an eastern region. Tweedies western Bible Belt was focused on a core that extended from Little Rock, Arkansas to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His eastern Bible Belt was focused on a core that included the major population centers of Virginia and North Carolina. Tweedie identified secondary core regions surrounding Dallas and Wichita Falls, Kansas to Lawton, Oklahoma.   Tweedie suggested that Oklahoma City was the buckle or capital of the Bible Belt but many other commentators and researchers have suggested other locations. It was H.L. Mencken who first suggested that Jackson, Mississippi was the capital of the Bible Belt. Other suggested capitals or buckles (in addition to the cores identified by Tweedie) include Abilene, Texas; Lynchburg, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri; and Charlotte, North Carolina.   The Bible Belt Today Studies of religious identity in the United States continually point to the southern states as an enduring Bible Belt. In a 2011 survey by Gallup, the organization found Mississippi to be the state containing the highest percentage of very religious Americans. In Mississippi, 59 percent of residents were identified as being very religious. With the exception of number two Utah, all of the states in the top ten are states commonly identified as being part of the Bible Belt. (The top 10 were: Mississippi, Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma.)   The Un-Bible Belts On the other hand, Gallup and others have pointed out that the opposite of the Bible Belt, perhaps an Unchurched Belt or a Secular Belt, exists in the Pacific Northwest and the northeastern United States. Gallups survey found that a mere 23 percent of Vermont residents are considered to be very religious. The 11 states (due to the tie for tenth place) that are home for the least religious Americans are Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island.   Politics and Society in the Bible Belt Many commentators have pointed out that while religious observance in the Bible Belt is high, it is a region of a variety of social issues. Educational attainment and college graduation rates in the Bible Belt are among the lowest in the United States. Cardiovascular and heart disease, obesity, homicide, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections are among the highest rates in the nation.   At the same time, the region is known for its conservative values, and the region is often considered to be a politically conservative region. The red states within the Bible Belt traditionally support Republican candidates for state and federal office. Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas have consistently pledged their electoral college votes to the Republican candidate for president in each presidential election since 1980. Other Bible Belt states usually vote Republican, but candidates such as Bill Clinton from Arkansas have sometimes swayed the votes in Bible Belt states.   In 2010,  Matthew Zook and Mark Graham utilized online place name data to identify the preponderance of the word church locally. What resulted is a map that is a good approximation of the Bible Belt as defined by Tweedie and extending into the Dakotas. Other Belts in America Other Bible Belt-style regions have been named in the United States. The Rust Belt of the former industrial heartland of America is one such region. Other belts include the Corn Belt, Snow Belt, and Sunbelt.

Tablets Can Help Students Improve Their Learning - 943 Words

Since the advancement of technology, schools have considered replacing textbooks with tablets. According to a 2012 report from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), schools spend more than $7 billion dollars on outdated textbooks a year. It has become a major problem. With all the outrageous expenses including paper, printing, and publishing costs that go towards printing textbooks, schools should consider using tablets instead of books for students to use. Therefore, buying tablets would make it more affordable and convenient for schools to receive new information with digital textbooks. However, teachers feel as though tablets would be a distraction in the classroom by having students pay attention to apps, email, and games instead of improving their learning. Tablets can help students improve their learning by providing digital textbooks and educational apps, prevents backpack-related injuries, and increases standardized test scores. Tablets can help students improve their learning by providing digital textbooks and educational apps for students to use that are affordable and convenient. Tablets can hold hundreds of books on a device, plus homework, quizzes, and other files. Fortunately, it eliminates the need for physical storage of books and classroom materials. The average tablet has anywhere from 8 to 64 GB of storage space. For example, when using an iPad it can hold up to 1,000 books per GB depending on the size of the book. Top K-12 publishers such asShow MoreRelatedAli James. Advanced Composition B1. Mrs. Provost. 22 February1540 Words   |  7 PagesComposition B1 Mrs. Provost 22 February 2017 Tablets Are Necessary in Classrooms Tablets in schools come with many pros and cons but ultimately, the world is becoming more and more advanced and technological. Schools need to keep up with the changes going on in the world. Tablets are extremely imperative in schools. People may view tablets as overly expensive, however, they are actually very cost-beneficial. Tablets allow for more learning in the classrooms, give students more and easier ways to learn andRead MoreTablets: A New Force Taking Over the Classroom852 Words   |  3 Pagesis the best possible way for students to learn is the constant topic professors and dean’s are discussing. How can my students better understand the material ,how can I make this course more interesting and what can I do to improve my teaching skills, these are just some of the questions professors ask themselves on a daily basis. The way of teaching with textbooks has always been the traditional method, but seems to never change. The lessons are the same and students are con stantly hearing the sameRead MoreShould Tablets Be Used? Schools All Over The Nation?1329 Words   |  6 Pagesa tap away. Nowadays, an individual can do most things online requiring minimal scrolls and taps. 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Early Tablets were built to be used withRead MoreEssay on Textbooks versus Tablets1030 Words   |  5 Pagesinto schools. Technology, such as a personal computer or tablet, with the proper precautions, should be implemented into schools as a learning device. Technology does not just allow students to stay connected with family and friends, they are also an excellent tool for learning, and they encourage the responsible use of technology. To begin with, technology makes it possible for students to stay in touch with family and friends. 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The advantages of using technology are; to help improve the way we learn, to stay connected with family and friends and how the use of these technologies make life easier. Research suggests that technology has become such an important part of our everyday lives because of the benefits that computers, tablets and cell phones provide. Computers today can be found almost anywhere. They can be found in your home, business officesRead MoreImpact Of Technology On The Classroom1118 Words   |  5 Pagesis more interactive for students and they learn more efficiently using it. Should technology be used in the classroom? My opinion on the debate is yes. I think this because there are many positive and negative uses of technology to further education. One example is that nowadays we are consumed by technology, making us progress as individuals, so why should we not use it in education? The main problem is that most people assume it is costly, â€Å"...after buying the tablets and the software, schools

Parents Should Not Spank Children - 1657 Words

Parents should not spank children Spanking is a method that most of parents use to punish their children after they have done something bad, which can help a child not to do the same thing again or over and over. It has been the way of discipline for many years. According to Julie Crandall, â€Å"65 percent of Americans spank their children, which means 3.5 out of 5 parents spank their children†. This study clearly shows us that parents more parents spank their children. Parents have been influenced by their surroundings to do it. They spank their children because they think it really works, so their children can behave better. Also, it can shape the child into good character and parents think spank their children will teach them not to do things that are forbidden. All in all, majority of people in this world believe that spanking is an acceptable tool for disciplining their children. Some people think that spanking is a type of abuse that parents need to correct a child†™s behavior, on the other hand; others think that spanking is not a good way to correct a child’s behavior. A parent does not need to spank your kid to get an outstanding out. Rather than trying to teach a child how to behave, corporal punishment makes him or her feels afraid. With this negative outcome, no parents should spank their children. It would be better if parents stop spanking their children and parents should not be allowed to spank their children in any situations. InShow MoreRelatedShould Parents Spank Their Children?1327 Words   |  6 Pages Should parents spank their children? Miguel Tello EMT LBCC Shawn Parker Nov 24, 2015 Abstract Corporal Punishment is a controversial topic that is influence by religion, values, upbringings etc. What parents do not realize is that it can have great outcomes in whether you practice it or not. One thing is certain, physical abuse is not always the answer. People should take a second and evaluate there parenting skills. Whether they are going to give positiveRead MoreShould Parents Be Allowed to Spank Their Children1456 Words   |  6 PagesShould Parents Be Allowed To Spank Their Children? The inhuman act of corporal punishment at home that is discouraged globally by a number of pressure groups and social welfare organizations should be completely banned, and parents should be allowed to spank their children. Physical violence practiced on children also known as corporal punishment has been discouraged globally by a number of pressure groups and social organizations for a number of reasons with serious consequences for violatorsRead MoreParents Should Not Spank Their Children Essay examples1654 Words   |  7 Pagesinjury. So, are parents actually teaching their children violence? 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I believe what parents do to theirRead MoreThe Importance Of Parental Spanking Of Children1540 Words   |  7 PagesParents should not spank their children because the parental spanking of children can be harmful to the behavioral and social development of their children. Parental spanking of children is a violent disciplinary technique where a parent hits childrens behinds with an open hand or object in order to deter childrens behavior in a way the parents may perceive as negative. I grew up in a home where my parents spanked me and my three younger brothers. I have witnessed parental spanking of childrenRead MoreThe Effects Of Spaking And Child Abuse866 Words   |  4 Pagesspanked by a parent for misbehaving may carry on this behavior as an accept able form of punishment for their own children. Others believe spanking to be an outdated punishment that is cruel and can cross the line to physical abuse. Some also believe spanking allows a parent to immediately stop a dangerous action, and, as a traditional form a discipline, may be necessary to communicate a message about negative behavior to young children who may not understand verbal explanations. A lot of parents find their

Toy Evaluation Paper - 650 Words

Toy Evaluation Paper I This paper will summarize the ERR articles from the bulleted topics and issues. This paper will also include summaries on toys that may encourage violence and aggression, toys that may promote pro-social behavior, gender stereotyping in toy selection, and cultural stereotyping or, lack of cultural awareness in toys. Influenced Behaviors; Toys can influence a child’s behavior, and his or her identity. Children are given toys that demonstrate different significance about aggression, different genders and how to interact with each other. An example would be guns and swords; these are geared toward boys, and endorse fighting, and battling In retrospect, guns and swords can help children in developing†¦show more content†¦Further, certain toys seem to suggest that boys are valued higher in society than girls (Starr, 1999). The information appears to show that there may be more stereotyping with regard to toys offered to boys. It seems that most parents choose more masculine and gender-neutral toys for the boys such as, soldier action figures, wrestling kits, and karate fighters (Starr, 1999). These types of toys encourage competitive and aggressive behaviors, however; they are also more constructive, conductive to handling, and more reality based (Starr, 1999). For girls, dolls, dream houses, and kitchen centers promote the idea that girls are meant to become mothers and caregivers. This can have a positive or a negative influence on a girl because it can send the message insinuating that girls should be submissive caregivers, and boys should be on control and aggressive. Whereas most gender specific toys fit into the gender specific stereotypes, the nongender specific toys seemed to discourage stereotypes. An example would be Lego’s, this is a nongender specific toys that allows both sexes to use his or her imagination to the fullest. Culturally Influenced; In my observations of toys, including guns, dolls, superheroes, and Legos, none indicated any cultural or ethnic stereotyping. Cultural or ethnic stereotyping can influence a child’s identity. Conclusion; Most children receive toys throughout hisShow MoreRelatedDescription Of A Toy Energy Investigation1451 Words   |  6 PagesMohammad Abuabeeleh Real toy energy investigation – you must choose a real-life toy and qualitatively describe the energy transformations that occur in its operation (for example: in a music box, a dial is turned to wind up a spring. You are doing work to wind the spring, which is stored as elastic potential energy of the music box. After the dial is released, the spring unwinds and converts its potential energy into kinetic energy of the ballerina.) 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The Da Vinci Code ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Free Essays

First and foremost, to my friend and editor, Jason Kaufman, for working so hard on this project and for truly understanding what this book is all about. And to the incomparable Heide Lange – tireless champion of The Da Vinci Code, agent extraordinaire, and trusted friend. I cannot fully express my gratitude to the exceptional team at Doubleday, for their generosity, faith, and superb guidance. We will write a custom essay sample on The Da Vinci Code ACKNOWLEDGMENTS or any similar topic only for you Order Now Thank you especially to Bill Thomas and Steve Rubin, who believed in this book from the start. My thanks also to the initial core of early in-house supporters, headed by Michael Palgon, Suzanne Herz, Janelle Moburg, Jackie Everly, and Adrienne Sparks, as well as to the talented people of Doubleday’s sales force. For their generous assistance in the research of the book, I would like to acknowledge the Louvre Museum, the French Ministry of Culture, Project Gutenberg, Bibliotheque Nationale, the Gnostic Society Library, the Department of Paintings Study and Documentation Service at the Louvre, Catholic World News, Royal Observatory Greenwich, London Record Society, the Muniment Collection at Westminster Abbey, John Pike and the Federation of American Scientists, and the five members of Opus Dei (three active, two former) who recounted their stories, both positive and negative, regarding their experiences inside Opus Dei. My gratitude also to Water Street Bookstore for tracking down so many of my research books, my father Richard Brown – mathematics teacher and author – for his assistance with the Divine Proportion and the Fibonacci Sequence, Stan Planton, Sylvie Baudeloque, Peter McGuigan, Francis McInerney, Margie Wachtel, Andre Vernet, Ken Kelleher at Anchorball Web Media, Cara Sottak, Karyn Popham, Esther Sung, Miriam Abramowitz, William Tunstall-Pedoe, and Griffin Wooden Brown. And finally, in a novel drawing so heavily on the sacred feminine, I would be remiss if I did not mention the two extraordinary women who have touched my life. First, my mother, Connie Brown – fellow scribe, nurturer, musician, and role model. And my wife, Blythe – art historian, painter, front-line editor, and without a doubt the most astonishingly talented woman I have ever known. FACT: The Priory of Sion – a European secret society founded in 1099 – is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo Da Vinci. The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as â€Å"corporal mortification.† Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million World Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City. All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. How to cite The Da Vinci Code ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, Essay examples

A Critical Essay on Rules of the Game

Question: How does the antagonist in the story chosen contribute to the storys overall meaning? Answer: Introduction Amy Tans one of the prominent literary exponents Rules of the Game has been chosen and the essay takes a close perusal of how far the antagonist, Lindo contributes to the course of her daughter, Waverly Jongs life. It illustrates a binary tussle between the protagonist Waverly Jong and the antagonist Lindo and is a twofold contention in the sense the narrator portrays a Chinese American family seen to have caught between continual dilemmas as well as the subtle power strife between a mother and a daughter (Wong). As a Chinese immigrant in America the mother, Lindo is busy in providing an ideal Chinese upbringing to her daughter Waverly while on the other hand; the story upholds a grave issue of mother-daughter tussle, where Lindo is ever conscious of the power that she exercises as a mother on her daughter. In this sense, by many Lindo has been viewed as the antagonist in the story aggravating the complications in her daughters life due to some of her own preconceived notions. The chess set received by Waverlys brother from the Chinese Santa Claus can be viewed as the turning point for the Jongs as it interests greatly the Jong brothers and especially Waverly. She develops a consistent winning streak, which however, unconsciously makes her mother jealous; this becomes even more evident in Lindos attempts to fade her daughters genuine talent by telling people about the mere luck factor working behind her wins (Wong). Concentrating on the first major theme of generating a sense of other in a foreign land, Lindo and her daughter Waverly seem to be stuck between two cultures especially because living in Chinatown of San Francisco magnifies this sense of disintegration to them even more (Fickle). Chess becomes the sole respite or window to Waverly that allows her integrate in the society of United States (Zhang). Amy Tan is renowned for deftly handling the nuances of mother-daughter relationships especially when it comes to be of Chinese American origin. In this story, she incorporates the themes of power equation, manipulation, along with freedom and confinement in this tussle (Wong). Both Lindo and Waverly remain busy in manipulating each other in order to climb into each others heads and as a result, Waverly learns the art of manipulation at a very early age from her mother. Their continual schemes of manipulating each other only increase alienation and a deep feeling of hurt between them also signifying in this context, the role of honesty functioning inside the game of chess. While at one hand, Waverly views chess as the source of her freedom, her mothers growing expectations turns her newly gained delight into a prison seizing her childhood innocence of her on the other. Lindo wants her daughter to be entirely dependent on her even for trivial common things like salted plums, her psycho logical and physical well-being and strikingly tends to bar Waverly from defining and nurturing her unique mental power in the form of chess (Bloom). Turning to the tussle between Asian and American values, Amy Tan emphasizes the contrast between two cultures in terms of attributing a persons achievement. While the American values admit individuals efforts and credits behind success, Asians tend to emphasize communal and familial acclaim behind the achievement (Fickle). The implicit mother-daughter conflict has thus been viewed in a broader social perspective where Amy Tan has justly detailed the hazards of being caught between two distinct values and heritage (Wong). According to Chinese familial values, Waverlys brothers Winston and Victor having significance of their own names are supposed to emerge as the familys principal achievers whereas Waverly would have appropriated her role in the family as merely a backdrop (Bloom). However, it is the feminine figure; the little sister of the family who does justice with the chess set that was initially designed for her big brother. Lindo victimized by the ideal feminine notions, too is seen to fortify this patriarchy mistreating her daughter (Zhang). Concentrating on all the points, therefore, we can conclude that Lindo, as a mother cannot be categorized as the conventional antagonists since she herself is the victim of being an idealized Asian cultured woman. Most importantly, she becomes a woman who is made to look for some source of power in the boundaries of her household where she can have the desired access. For Waverly, rules imply the ones enforced on her by her mother while for Lindo the meaning of rules extends to the intercultural standards that singled her out as an outsider and did not allow her unite with the American society until she learned to adopt them before entering into the country. References: Bloom, Harold.Amy Tan. Infobase Publishing, 2014. Fickle, Tara. "American Rules and Chinese Faces: The Games of Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club."MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States39.3 (2014): 68-88. Wong, Sau-ling Cynthia. "Sugar Sisterhood: Situating the Amy Tan Phenomenon."Amy Tan(2014): 49-83. Zhang, Jun. "Cultural Ties in Amy Tans Works."Contemporary English Teaching and Learning in Non-English-Speaking Countries3.5 (2014): 55-61.