Dresden and the Destruction of Vonneguts Dream :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

Dresden and the Destruction of Vonnegut's Dream The little dream Vonnegut took with him to war was not founded on the rubble of insanity, absurdity, and irrationality that he experienced in WWII. His dream was founded on order, stability, and justice. It was founded on what Dresden symbolized. And when Dresden evaporated so too did Vonnegut's dream. (Klinkowitz 223) Vonnegut's views on death, war, technology and human nature were all affected by his experience in Dresden and these themes become evident in his novels. The common thread between all of Vonnegut's themes is war.The bombing of Dresden had a profound impact on the life and writing of Kurt Vonnegut. "Rarely has a single incident so dominated the work of a writer" (Goldsmith IX). World War II shaped many of Kurt Vonnegut's philosophies that appear in his novels, especially Slaughterhouse Five. "With Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut was able to deal directly with his war time nightmare" (Klinkowitz 225). In Slaughterhouse Five we witness a moment of balance in Vonnegut's life when he finds himself capable of dealing with the intense pain of his Dresden experience and ready to go on with the business of living. "If the war becomes a general metaphor for Vonnegut's vision of human condition, Dresden becomes the symbol, the quintessence" (Reed 186). What made the Dresden bombing even more horrible to Vonnegut was that as a prisoner, he was ironically protected from the bombs and fire. Planes from his country did the bombing, and he was perpetrator, observer and target all at the same time (Goldsmith ix). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He later served in the US Army Infantry. He was captured after the Battle of the Bulge and sent to Dresden to work in a factory. After being awarded the Purple Heart in 1967, he received the Guggenheim Fellowship to research Slaughterhouse Five.

Advantage And Disadvantage In City Life Essay

Big city is where you can see many vehicles,many skyscrapers, many people with a hurry pace of life. That place can fascinate us very much due to its light and luxury. Nowadays, more and more people want to live there because they see many advantages. Indeed, in a big city, people can have the best chances to work as well as can enjoy the best service and entertainment In a big city, people can take the chances to study and work best. There are many good University for u to choose in a big city. There you can express your ability to study what you like. Moreover, when you graduate, you also find it easier to find chances to get a good job with good salary, that is quite difficult in small cities or countrysides; because there concentrates many big companies and groups. Hence, many graduate students choose big cities to live and work. In short, it is where you can take advantages f yourself. In addition, in a big city you can enjoy the best service and entertainment. Is this Essay helpful? Read more: Difference between village life and city life essay Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 325,000 just like it! get better grades Because there are many rich people here, they can invest much money to get the best for them. Lives in a big city are quite luxurius but you don’t have to be worried when you are sick or suffer a disease because there you can find good doctors for you, as long as you have much money. What’s more, in a big city you can enjoy new entertainment such as new games or luxury games. Many people can argue that living in a big city makes them tired with noise and dash. They like the slow pace of life in a countryside. But I think that you can live there for a long time because the young always like to enjoy new things and want to have much money, which is very difficult to do in a countryside. However, when you get older, especially when you retire, a countryside will the best choice to live. In summary, living in a big city has many advantages. However, you have to try your best to overcome all difficulties such as hard competition in workplace or polluted environment.

Africa Hunger Essay

Today, i am happy to come here and tell you sth about Africa Hunger. First, i have a small question for you :† have you ever had nothing in your stomach for three days? Maybe none of you here have suffer it but in sub-saharan Africa, there are a lot of people died everyday due to starvation. In this presentation, i will tell you five things you may not know about hunger in Africa. Hunger in Africa has become a huge issue over the years. There are billions of adults and children starving. The first of five factors you may not know about Africa Hunger is Climate changes and bad weather significantly affect hunger in Africa. It push more and more people into hunger. According to Climate changes and Hunger, FAO, 2009; By 2050, climate change and bad weather will have pushed another 24 millions children into hunger. Almost half of these children will live in sub-saharan Africa. Why FAO can point out this conculsion, they have analized value of the number of hungry people from 2001-2009. this climate changes factor has create the following factor. Factor number 2 is rising food prices contributes to hunger in Africa. It is affected by climate changes and economic issue. However this problem can be solved since there are a lot of foundations for victims of starvation. However Factor number 3 showing that 2 factor above has crushed this part of the world is Africa accounts for 1 quater of the hungry population. From this chart you can see that there are 102 billion people in hunger all around the world and about 642 millions in Asia – Pacific. Sub- saharan Africa hvae reach 265 millions which mean 1 quarter of the world’s hungry population. The following factor will show us how terrible hunger is? Factor number 4: Hunger kills more people than AIDS in Africa. FAO has shown that 14,6 million African died because of AIDS but it is up to 42 million hungry deaths in the near East and North Africa. Factor number 5 relating to money have point out that it only take $0,25 to feed a child in Africa. You can provide a child with all of the vitamins and nutrients, he or she need to grow up healthy with only 5200 VN Ä  per day. Food is a humand right but there are more hungry people now than at any time in history. We can fix it. By this preresentation, i just want to send you a message â€Å" plz, don’t waste your food even a piece of bread†.

Contextualizing the Effects of the Ruhr Crisis on the Second World War Essay

Contextualizing the Effects of the Ruhr Crisis on the Second World War - Essay Example The Occupation of Ruhr by the French triggered a domino effect of failures and problems that indirectly contributed to the inexorability of a second world war. The issue of reparations and the extent of the effects of the Ruhr crisis comprise â€Å"an excruciatingly tangled thicket into which only a few intrepid explorers have ventured.† However, if one must venture into this tangled thicket, one must plot a course that will show the clearest way to untangle it and take out the unnecessary weeds. In this sense, because the post-war period and the Ruhr crisis involve a lot of events and activities, one must sort through this stream of information and pick out only what is relevant. That is to say that the course exhibited in this paper is not the only explanation as another person may view the events in a different light and may go through a different route. Furthermore, the Ruhr Occupation and World War II are separated by sixteen long years; and so, it is very difficult to sa y for certain that the former caused the latter. Hence, this paper will attempt to show a complete analysis of the significant chain of events that explains why the Ruhr Crisis made a great contribution to the inevitability of a second world war through a shift or a regression in the European balance of power. France’s failure to achieve her goal of industrial expansion through the Occupation of Ruhr proved to be catastrophic as it not only drove a wedge between Britain and France and diminished her power in Europe, but it also created a chain of events that led to Germany’s reinforced supremacy that tipped the balance of power in her favor and the latter’s thirst for revenge that contributed greatly to the inevitability of World War II.

A Region in Europe Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

A Region in Europe - Term Paper Example 2. Location 3. 3. Sicily’s Physical Geography Sicily is famous for its unique geographical features such as its topography, rivers, climate and vegetation that distinguish it from any other European region. 3.1. Topography and Landscape Figure 3 – Contrasting Landscapes in Sicily 3.2. Rivers and Catchments The longest river in Sicily is the Salso. Its tributaries start in the Madonie Mountains in Central Sicily, and flow southwards through the providences of Enna and Caltanissetta into the Mediterranean near the sea port of Licata. It’s Sicily’s longest river at 89 miles, and its drainage basin covers an area of 819? miles (Wikipedia: Salso, 2010). Sicily’s rivers are usually fast flowing with irregular volumes of water. Flash flooding in the winter months contrasts with the drying up of rivers in summer. Figure 5 – The River Salso Other notable rivers include the Simeto, Sicily’s second longest river at 68 miles, which channels waters from the Caltagirone, Gornalunga and Dittaino catchments (Wikipedia: Simeto, 2010). It flows into the Ionian Sea, on Sicily’s eastern coastline, south of the populated region of Catania. It’s regarded as Sicily’s most important river in terms of its watershed and the number of people who rely on it for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. 3.3. Sicily’s Climate Sicily’s weather is dominated by its Mediterranean climate, consisting of hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The city of Catania is the ‘sunniest’ place in Europe, with 2492 hours of sunshine per year (6.8 per day) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.1. Temperature June to September are Sicily’s hottest months, were temperatures regularly exceed 25Â °c (World Reviewer). Sicily’s coolest months are December to February were temperatures range from 10Â °c-16Â °c (Peter Sommer Travels). Despite Sicily’s small geographical size, there are also climatic diff erences between locations of the island, ranging from an annual average of 19Â °c on the coastline, to 13Â °c in mountainous regions (Sicily: Italian Marina). Figure 6 – Sicily’s Average Annual Air Temperatures (Cited from Worldreviewer.com) 3.3.2. Precipitation Sicily has an annual mean precipitation rate of 24 inches (611mm), in which 75% of rainfall occurs from October-March. Less than an inches worth of rain falls between June – August (World Reviewer). Figure 7 also highlights that Sicily’s rainfall is not evenly distributed, and low lying ground such as the plains of Catania receive far less rainfall than mountainous regions. Figure 7 – Precipitation Rates in Sicily (Cited from BestofSicily.com) 3.3.3. Sea Temperatures As an island, the temperature of the sea surrounding Sicily has a bigger effect on its climate than inland regions in mainland Europe. Sicily’s average sea temperatures are hottest during the summer (24Â °c) and coole st from January-March (14Â °c) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.4. Vegetation Sicily’s temperate Mediterranean climate has played a major role in determining its vegetation. The typical evergreen Mediterranean shrub is widespread in coastal areas and much of Sicily’s wild vegetation consists of papyrus, palm trees and stone pines. Numerous trees, shrubs and flowers are native to Sicily, including wild olive trees and manna ash (a medium size deciduous tree, which contains a sugary extract in its bark used as a natural sweetener). Citrus and fruit orchards, grape vines and

Performance Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Evaluation - Essay Example 6). Performance Evaluation Points of Concern The case study talks about a mid size manufacturing plant and the performance evaluation of an engineer is conducted who previously had worked in the aerospace industry and hard working employee. Major concerns with respect to performance review in the manufacturing firm was that the review was performed by someone who was not effectively trained and so he won’t be able to understand the criteria of judging a person and deciding upon the appraisal. Secondly, the engineer did not trust the company’s approach towards evaluation of performance as it concentrated only personal characteristic and relationship with the worker. Thirdly even after learning about the 360 degree evaluation method, the manager was not sure of implementing it. Most Commonly-Used Performance Evaluation Tool The plant manger evaluated the performance based on two criteria personal characteristic and relationship with the co workers of the engineer. ... A good relationship means working as a team to solve problems and learn on new skills in order to reach the objective of the team and can bring about effective result. Therefore comparing personal characteristic and relationship among the co workers, the latter is more important for effective result. Advantage and Disadvantage Advantage of including the superiors, subordinates and peers in the evaluation process also known as the 360 degree is it improves the performance of whole organization and focuses on individual growth. An all round feedback allows an employee to understand as to how other perceive them and getting feedback directly from customers, colleague in a safe way helps an employee get the reality of information. In addition it also includes certain disadvantages like it is time consuming and a complex process, it can result in intimidating for some employees due to extensive feedback and most importantly it requires training in order to work effectively (Fagerhaugh, 19 96, p. 80) Three Common Performance Evaluation Methods Three common performance evaluation methods which are used to analyze performance data are rating scale or the ranking method, 360 degree evaluation method and behavioral evaluation method. Common characteristic of the three methods is that they are used to evaluate performance of the employees by the evaluator. The ranking method is the most common and easiest method where the employees are ranked based on the relative worth towards the organization although the method suffers from defects like bias report from the evaluator and also not suitable for large number of people. The 360 degree helps to get feedback from multisource unlike the ranking method. The

Reducing Ambiguities in Customer Requirements Through Historical Dissertation

Reducing Ambiguities in Customer Requirements Through Historical Knowledge - Dissertation Example On the contrary, adverse scenarios develop and complex designs are continually expressed, marked by high levels of understandability, verifiability, traceability, and modifiability requirements which are not consistent with intricate situations. The intricate situations increase, creating a design reality for Requirements Engineering processes plagued with uncertainty, vacillation, and visualization. The purpose of this study is to present a more conventional philosophical system of thinking, which is ideally grounded on the value-based approach, and melted down to ideal elucidation process in the rigid scenarios. It will develop a discussion that supports no software engineering may supersede Requirement Engineering. A high degree of quality in Requirement Engineering is paramount to withstand harsh run time errors associated software engineering development. ... 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... Proposed Conceptual Method; Cybulsky, J., and K. Reed. 2000. â€Å"Requirements Classification and Reuse: Crossing Domains Boundaries.† In 6th International Conference on Software Reuse, 190–210. Fig. 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Software and Qualitative Analysis; e-Source. (2013). Software and Qualitative Analysis: The Qualitative Research; Sorting and Coding. Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences Research Fig. 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Fig. 5†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ LIST OF TABLES Table 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Methodologies for Requirements Engineering Table 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Deductive Analysis Steps Table Table Table Table CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION History has shown that insufficient engineering requirements lead to insufficient engineering products and thus, security risks. Requirements Engineering (RE) consists of development and management and is one of the most important disciplines in the development of Software Engineering (SE) soft ware products. According to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK), software requirements can be defined as â€Å"a property which must be exhibited in order to solve some problem in the real world† (Committee 2004). One of the main practices in RE is the elicitation process of software requirements (see fig. 1). During the elicitation process, requirements are analyzed, specified, and verified (SPC, 2002). Software requirements specifications are derived from the requirements elicitation process (see fig. 1). For requirements to be of quality, they must be correct, complete, precise, consistent, verifiable, modifiable, and traceable (Toval et al. 2002). Successful and effective requirements engineering can improve risk management, quality, reusability, and productivity during the software development process. In this study, ambiguities in new customer