Adolescent Case Study

Adolescent Case Study

I.   Identification

      A.  Kathy Johnson is a 14 year old female, a freshman at Parkway High              

            School, and resides at 789 Parkview Way, Bossier City, LA 70000.

II.  History of Family

      A.  The subject lives with her biological mother and stepfather.  The child's                

            biological father resides in Bossier City as well, but he has not maintained a      

            relationship with the child since he divorced her mother in 1981.  The child  

            also has a brother who lives out of state and has no relationship or contact  

            with him either.

B.  The subject comes from an upper middle class family.  Her stepfather is a high

school graduate and owns his own construction business.  Her mother is a

homemaker and quit school during her sophomore year.

      C.    The subject and her family live in Southern Gardens, a small subdivision

      in Bossier City.  The family, for the most part, keeps to themselves and does

      not have any close, personal associations.  The few associates they have are

      business colleagues and people from their church groups. 

      D.    The stepfather is a relatively healthy male, approximately 6'1" tall, dark brown

      hair, brown eyes, weighs around 200 pounds and has no known physical   

      illness.  The mother is 5'4" tall, blonde hair, brown eyes and has noticeable

      symptoms of depression and a significant drinking problem.  Presently she

      is in good overall physical health.

      E.    Most of the family's interest revolves around the subject's athletic activities

      such as baseball and church related activities such as Sunday services and

      youth centered groups.

      F.    The family attends a full gospel, nondenominational church on a regular basis. 

            Their political views are primarily democratic.

      G.    The family is of Italian descent and somewhat antisocial.  They rarely see

      anyone on a personal basis and have no close personal friends.

III. History of the Case

      A.    The subject is approximately 5'5" tall, long dark brown hair, brown eyes and is

      somewhat overweight, weighing in at 165 pounds.  However, she is very

      athletic and is routinely involved in softball and basketball.  She plays softball

      during the summer for her church league and has won numerous trophies.

      During the school year, she also plays basketball for her church basketball

      team.  She diligently attends every practice and never misses a game in either

      sport.  Although her physician states that she is in good general health, she

      regularly complains of stomach pain and lethargy.

      B.    Due to the subject's physical complaints, her school attendance is relatively

      poor; however, her grades are above average in the A to B range.  In the past,

      her attendance in school was better, but her grades were not as high.  They

      usually remained in the B to C range.

      C.    The subject receives an allowance of $25 per week for doing household chores

      such as cleaning her room, vacuuming, and cooking dinner.  Most often, she

      spends her allowance on name brand clothing and shoes.  Fitting in with the

      "Preppy" crowd seems to be very important to her, hence the expenditures on

      only name brand clothing, shoes, etc.

      D.    Although she wants to fit in, she seems to lack the social skills required in

      order to get along with her peers.  She tends to be somewhat aggressive

      which often results in confrontations and arguments with peers her own age.

      Therefore, she only has one close friend and is not part of any clique or group.

      According to her, the other adolescents describe her as being overbearing and

      bossy, so ultimately she stays to herself and does not get along well with her

      peers.

      E.    The subject's recreational habits consist of playing softball and basketball and

      attending youth oriented activities at church such as youth camp and bible

      studies.  She is a very outgoing and aggressive teenager who often tends to try

      and force her opinions on her peers.  Which in turn, has the opposite effect and

      more often causes her peers to become distant and antisocial with her.

      F.    Her personal philosophy and ideology is based mainly on her religious beliefs.

      She believes in the teachings of the bible and that there is one God who

      controls and oversees the world in which she lives.  Therefore, she is against

      premarital sex, drug and alcohol use, and abortion.  When asked her political

      views, for example who she would vote for, her reply was "Bill Clinton, simply

      because he is a democrat."  She seems to be heavily influenced by her families

      political views, in that, she doesn't know much about politics, but she would

      vote for a democrat because her family belongs to the Democratic Party.

IV.  Summary

            After interviewing and observing the subject, my findings relative to her

current status are the following:

      Her stepfather is physically and verbally abusive toward her mother often forcing the

subject to call the police.  Her mother appears to suffer from prolonged bouts of

depression and ongoing alcohol use.  Therefore, the subject is required to more or

less handle the everyday household obligations such as cooking and cleaning.  She

also has a deep resentment for her stepfather and feels the need to protect and take

care of her mother.

            In my opinion, the subject is suffering from physical and emotional neglect

from her parents resulting in depression, low self esteem, aggressive tendencies, and

bouts of hypochondria.

V.   Recommendations

            My recommendations would be to remove the subject from the abusive

situation by placing her in a temporary foster home and to require her parents to undergo

a full psychiatric evaluation.  She should remain in the foster home until her mother

undergoes and successfully completes an alcohol rehabilitation program and receives

counseling for the physical and emotional abuse which she has endured.  The stepfather

should be required to stay away from the subject and her mother until he undergoes

counseling and no longer exhibits signs of  aggressive and abusive behavior.  Other

recommendations for the subject would be to prescribe antidepressants combined with

group support with other adolescents suffering similar situations and problems.  Her

aggressive tendencies and low self esteem need to be addressed by placing her in a loving

and emotionally stable and supportive household where she would be allowed to

experience some freedom from the emotional burden of having to run a household

virtually by herself.

ACID RAIN

INTRODUCTION: Acid rain is a great problem in  our world. It causes fish

and plants to die in our waters. As well it causes harm to our own race as

well, because we eat these fish, drink this water and eat these plants. It

is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of. However

acid rain on it's own is not the biggest problem. It cause many other

problems such as aluminum poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly.

 

  WHAT IS ACID RAIN?

     Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist etc that falls from the sky onto

our planet that contains an unnatural acidic. It is not to be confused with

uncontaminated rain that falls, for that rain is naturally slightly acidic.

It is caused by today's industry. When products are manufactured many

chemicals are used to create it. However because of the difficulty and cost

of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted into the

atmosphere with little or no treatment.

     The term was first considered to be important about 20 years ago when

scientists in Sweden and Norway first believed that acidic rain may be

causing great ecological damage to the planet. The problem was that by the

time that the scientist found the problem it was already very large.

Detecting an acid lake is often quite difficult. A lake does not become

acid over night. It happens over a period of many years, some times

decades. The changes are usually to gradual for them to be noticed early.

     At the beginning of the 20th century most rivers/lakes like the river

Tovdal in Norway had not yet begun to die. However by 1926 local inspectors

were noticing that many of the lakes were beginning to show signs of death.

Fish were found dead along the banks of many rivers. As the winters ice

began to melt off more and more hundreds upon hundreds more dead fish

(trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time that scientist

began to search for the reason. As the scientists continued to work they

found many piles of dead fish, up to 5000 in one pile, further up the

river. Divers were sent in to examine the bottom of the rivers. What they

found were many more dead fish. Many live and dead specimens were taken

back to labs across Norway. When the live specimens were examined they were

found to have very little sodium in their blood. This is typical a typical

symptom of acid poisoning. The acid had entered the gills of the fish and

poisoned them so that they were unable to extract salt from the water to

maintain their bodies sodium levels.

     Many scientist said that this acid poising was due to the fact that it

was just after the winter and that all the snow and ice was running down

into the streams and lakes. They believed that the snow had been exposed to

many natural phenomena that gave the snow it's high acid content. Other

scientists were not sure that this theory was correct because at the time

that the snow was added to the lakes and streams the Ph levels would change

from around 5.2 to 4.6. They believed that such a high jump could not be

attributed to natural causes. They believed that it was due to air

pollution. They were right. Since the beginning of the Industrial

revolution in England pollution had been affecting all the trees,soil and

rivers in Europe and North America.

     However until recently the loses of fish was contained to the southern

parts of Europe. Because of the constant onslaught of acid rain lakes and

rivers began to lose their ability to counter act their affects. Much of

the alkaline elements; such as calcium and limestone; in the soil had been

washed away. It is these lakes that we must be worried about for they will

soon become extinct.

     A fact that may please fishermen is that in lakes/rivers they tend to

catch older and larger fish. This may please them in the short run however

they will soon have to change lakes for the fish supply will die quickly in

these lakes. The problem is that acid causes difficulties the fish's

reproductive system. Often fish born in acid lakes do not survive for they

are born with birth defects such as twisted and deformed spinal columns.

This is a sign that they are unable to extract enough calcium from the

water to fully develop their bone. These young soon die. With no

competition the older,stronger can grow easily. However there food is

contaminated as well by the acid in the water. Soon they have not enough

food for themselves and turn to cannibalism. With only an older population

left there is no one left to regenerate themselves. Soon the lake dies.

     By the late 1970s many Norwegian scientists began to suspect that it

was not only the acid in the water that was causing the deaths. They had

proved that most fish could survive in a stream that had up to a 1 unit

difference in PH. After many experiments and research they found that their

missing link was aluminum.

     Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth. It is stored in a

combined form with other elements in the earth. When it is combined it

cannot dissolve into the water and harm the fish and plants. However the

acid from acid rain can easily dissolve the bond between these elements.

The Aluminum is then dissolved into a more soluble state by the acid. Other

metals such as Copper (Cu), iron (Fe) etc can cause such effects upon the

fish as well however it is the aluminum that is the most common. For

example: CuO + H2SO4  ----------> CuSO4 + H2O

    In this form it is easily absorbed into the water. When it comes in

contact with fish it causes irritation to the gills. In response the fish

creates a film of mucus in the gills to stop this irritation until the

irritant is gone. However the aluminum does not go always and the fish

continues to build up more and more mucus to counteract it. Eventually

there is so much mucus that it clogs the gills. When this happens the fish

can no longer breath. It dies and then sinks to the bottom of the lake.

Scientists now see acid, aluminum and shortages of calcium as the three

determining factors in the extinction of fish.

     As well there is the problem of chlorine. In many parts of the world

it is commonly found in the soil. If it enters the fish's environment it

can be deadly. It affects many of the fish's organisms and causes it to

die. As well it interferes in the photosynthesis process in plants.

     NaOH + HCl ----> NaCl + H2O

    The carbon in the water can become very dangerous for fish and plants

in the water if the following reaction happens:

     CaCO3 + 2HCl ---> CaCl2 + H2CO3 then

     H2CO3 ---> H2O + CO2

    The salt created by this reaction can kill. It interferes directly with

the fish's nervous system.

     Acid lakes are deceivingly beautiful. The are crystal clear and have a

luscious carpet of green algae on the bottom. The reason that these lakes

are so clear is because many of the decomposers are dead. They cannot break

down that material such as leaves and dead animals. These materials

eventually sink to the bottom instead of going through the natural process

of decomposition. In acid lakes decomposition is very slow. "The whole

metabolism of the lake is slowed down."

     During this same period of time the Canadian department of fisheries

spent eight years dumping sulfuric acid (H2SO4) into an Ontario lake to see

the effects of the decrease in the PH over a number of years. At the PH of

5.9 the first organisms began to disappear. They were shrimps. They started

out at a population of about seven million, but at the pH of 5.9 they were

totally wiped out. Within a year the minnow died because it could no longer

reproduce it's self.

     At this time the pH was of 5.8. New trout were failing to be produced

because many smaller organisms that served as food to it had been wiped out

earlier. With not enough food the older fish did not have the energy to

reproduce. Upon reaching the pH of 5.1 it was noted that the trout became

cannibals. It is believed this is due to the fact that the minnow was

nearly extinct.

     At a pH of 5.6 the external skeletons of crayfish softened and they

were soon infected with parasites, and there eggs were destroyed by fungi.

When the pH went down to 5.1 they were almost gone. By the end of the

experiment none of the major species had survived the trials of the acid.

The next experiment conducted by the scientists was to try and bring the

lake back to life. They cut in half the amount of acid that they dumped to

simulate a large scale cleanup. Soon again the cuckers and minnows began to

reproduce again. The lake eventually did come back; to a certain extent;

back to life. THE NEW THEORY:

     A scientist in Norway had a problem believing that it was the acid

rain on it's own that was affecting the lakes in such a deadly way. This

scientist was Dr Rosenqvist.

 

 

  "Why is it that during heavy rain, the swollen rivers can be up to

fifteen times more acid than the rain? It cannot be the rain alone that is

doing it, can it?" Many scientist shunned him for this however they could

not come up with a better answer. Soon the scientists were forced to accept

this theory.

     Sulfuric acid is composed of two parts, know as ions. The hydrogen ion

is what make a substance acid. The other ion is sulphate. When there are

more hydrogen ions then a substance is acid. It is this sulphate ion that

we are interested in. When the rain causes rivers to overboard onto the

banks the river water passes through the soil. Since the industrial

revolution in britain there has been an increasing amount of sulphur in the

soil. In the river there is not enough sulphur for the acid to react in

great quantities. However in the soil there is a great collection of

sulphur to aid the reaction. When it joins the water the pH becomes much

lower. This is the most deadly effect of acid rain on our water!!! The

water itself does not contain enough sulphur to kill off it's population of

fish and plants. But with the sulphur in the soil it does.

 

                              CONCLUSION:

 

  Acid rain is a big problem. It causes the death of our lakes, our rivers,

our wild life and most importantly us. As well it causes other problems

that are very serious as well such as the release of aluminium and lead

into our water supplies. We are suffering because of it. In Scotland there

are many birth defects being attributed to it. We must cut down the

releases of chemicals that cause it. But it will take time, even if we were

to stop today we would have the problem for years to come because of the

build up in the soil. Let's hope we can do something.

                             BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

  Penguin Publishing House, 1987 , Pearce Fred Acid Rain. What is it and

  what is it doing to us?

 

  New York Publishers, 1989, William Stone Acid Rain. Fiend or Foe?

 

  Lucent books, Inc. 1990, Steward Gail Acid Rain.

Abortion should not be legalized

Abortion is the worst thing a woman can do against human dignity. It is a crime against life. No woman has the right to kill a new living being. Many countries ban abortion and many institutions fight against it. Abortion is immoral and it should not be legalized.

Abortion is also a threat to the mother's health. A woman can suffer an infection or internal bleeding. She could also become sterilized, the permanent inhability to bear a child. Abortion not only kills the baby but may kill the mother too. During an abortion, despite the use of local anesthesia, 97% of the women report severe pain, and if a more powerful drug is used she could suffer dangerous side effects. Many complications are common after an abortion, like inflammation of the reproductive organs. As well, there is strong evidence that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. Women that abort increase their chances of getting breast cancer by 50%, and teenagers with no previous pregnancies that abort after the 8th week increase their probability by 800%. Unicef states that 250,000 women die every year because of legal and illegal abortions: 75,000 of them die of self-inflicted abortions; 75,000 die of convulsions; and the other 100,000 die of blood poisoning caused by an infection of the uterus.  Therefore, if abortion is legalized there will be not only more fetal murders but also more mothers will die.

None of the methods women use to abort are completly safe. One of the most common methods used is Suction Aspiration. The doctor uses a special tool to suck the baby into a collection bottle. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being damaged, which would cause hemorrhage. A woman with hemorrhage will need a blood transfusion that could cause her AIDS. Also infection may easily occur if fetal tissue is left behind in the uterus. Another method used for babies as old as twenty four weeks, is the Dilation and Evacuation. Sharp jaws are used to grasp different parts of the unborn baby which are then torn away. The skull of the baby must be crushed to facilitate the procedure. Another technique used by a lot of pregnant women is the RU486. The RU486 are pills used to abort the undesired child. These pills have very dangerous side effects. They could cause severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting, pain, and even death. In France a woman died because of this drug while others suffered life threatning heart attacks. Also RU486 can cause severe malformations in later pregnancies. Therefore the baby is not the only one that is endangered.

The baby's mother not only has to deal with physical consequences, but also psychological problems that could last for a lifetime. Women that abort usually suffer  severe traumas. Once, a woman was rapped by five men. She didn't want to have the child, but her pain and embarrasment were so great that she couldn't abort until the last month. She is still in psychological treatment.  Psychologist Wanda Franz states, "Women feel worthless because they failed at the most natural of human activities, the role of being a mother." Women report horrible nightmares of children calling them from a trash can full of body parts and blood. Surgical abortions aren't as traumatic as chemical abortions. Women having chemical abortions often see the complete tiny bodies of their babies and are even able to distinguish the developing hands and eyes. So traumatic is this for some future mothers that it is recommended that women that are not prepared for this, do not take the drug. Researchers call these phychological problems the Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS). Women that suffer from PAS experience drug and alcohol abuse, personal relationship problems, repeated abortions, and even suicide. Of all the women that abort, 56% feel guilty  and suffer PAS.  In the United States there are over 3000 Pregnancy Crisis  Centers which help women that are facing unplanned pregnancies. They make the future mothers realize that her baby deserves to have the chance of living. They tell them that if they can't support the baby then she could give it up for adoption but not kill him.

Do women have the right to steal the life of a new living being? Killing a person is illegal, so why should a fetal murder be legal? You have to ask yourself these questions and realize that when a woman aborts, she is acting like any other murderer. Researchers have discovered that life begins at the moment of conception in the mother's uterus, therefore abortion ends a human life and should be punishable by law. As well, nine short months of pregnancy is a small cost for a life without physical and health problems,

think about it.

A Murders Journey Through works of Dostoyevsky and Poe

Some people believe that most murderers have a mental illness which causes them to commit their crime.  This belief is strongly disagreed with  by the authors Edgar Allan Poe and Fyodor Dostoevsky.  Crime and Punishment, "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat",and "The Cask of Amontillado" are very similar in this contradiction.  Each murderer takes a specific journey that has been illustrated in each case.  The psychological make-up of each murderer shows that he is a normal person up to the point at which something compels him to commit this horrible crime, and after that his conscience usually leads to his own downfall.

      Before the murder has been committed the character is a regular human being.  In most cases the characters that end up carrying through with this crime are above average people.  Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment is "... quite an extraordinarily handsome young man..." (Crime and Punishment, pg.21)  Raskolnikov is a very gifted university student, with a very good talent for figuring people out. Raskolinikov takes great pride and care for his family.  On receiving a letter from his mother

      ...he quickly raised the letter to his lips and kissed it; then he spent a long time poring  over the handwriting on the envelope, over the small, slanting handwriting, so familiar and dear to him, of his mother who had once taught him to read and write. (Crime and Punishment, pg.47)

Raskolnikov's mother, who taught him how to read and write did this job quite well.  This resulted in a very gifted and brilliant university student.  This point is illustrated throughout the novel from the planning and carrying out of the murder, to interactions with the police.

       The narrator from the short story "The Black Cat" describes his "tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of his companions." ("The Black Cat", pg.390) He is quite a regular human being who is "...especially fond of animals..." ("The Black Cat", pg.390)  The narrator also has a great wife whom he describes as being quite similar to himself, which shows that he must be quite normal if a good woman chooses to marry him.  Much alike is the narrator from the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart".  Again this character is full of love.  The victim of his crime had done no wrong and for that the narrator "...loved the old man." ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.384)  The narrator shows the same brilliance in planning the crime that Raskolnikov exhibits.  People with great intelligence, great lives, possessions and friends must be normal people.  This seems to hold true in the short story "The Cask of Amontillado".  The narrator is a man with great wealth.  He has many friends which would signify that he is quite a normal character.  He lives in a nice house with servants and fine wine.  This all seems to show that his mind is intact, if he obtains and keeps these symbols of success.  It seems as if each and every character discussed is quite a normal human being.  In most cases the wealth, knowledge, or love of others is far above average than most other human beings.

      The normal psychological make-up of a murderer has to

change before the crime is committed.  Something must happen

in the character's life that causes them to alter their

reasoning ability into something that maybe considered as

insanity.  It is seen quite clear that the loving character

from "The Black Cat" "experienced a radical alteration for

the worse." ("The Black Cat", pg.391) The turning point in

his mind was explained by the narrator.  "But my disease

grew upon me - for what disease is like Alcohol!"      

("The Black Cat, pg.392) This problem with alcohol is

clearly the point at which the reasoning of the character

changes.

      In Raskolnikov's case this change is also quite

clear.  For an above average university student it would be

devastating to see education slip through his fingers

beyond control.  "He was crushed by poverty, but even

straitened circumstances had ceased to worry him lately."

(Crime and Punishment, pg.19)  The poverty causes

Raskolnikov to leave university. Upon leaving university he

is left alone with his thoughts. "At that moment he was

fully aware that his thoughts were at times confused and

that he was very weak: for two days now he had had hardly

anything to eat." (Crime and Punishment, pg.20)  Poverty is

clearly what changes Raskolnikov's psyche. 

      The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" has a bizarre

reason for this change to occur.   

     

      He had never wronged me. He had never given me

      insult.  For his gold I had no desire.  I think it was his eye!  yes, it was this!  He had the eye of a vulture - a pale blue eye with a film over it. ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.384)

This figurative meaning of the old man's eye can be

interpreted in the broad view that the narrator dislikes the

old man's personality. The narrators change stems from the

selfishness and uncaring of the old man.  The narrator of

"The Cask of Amontillado" takes a change that occurs for the

plain reason of revenge.  it is evident that the character

has passed a certain point at which his thoughts have

changed as to compel him to carry through with this crime.

      In each work the murder has been committed it certainly

takes a great psychological effect on each character.  The

narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" experiences this as he is

conversing with the police.

     

      "The ringing became more distinct: - it continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definitiveness - until, at length , I found that the noise was not within my ears." ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.389)

It is shown that the narrator's conscience is ringing

and it is driving him insane.  He gets more insane as time

passes "It grew louder - louder - louder!" ("The Tell-Tale

Heart, pg.389) This seems to be how his mind alters and is

being punished for this alteration for the worse. 

The sound imagery is also used within the story "The Black

Cat".  After the first murder of his cat, the narrator's

feeling of guilt grows with every passing day.  "...I longed

to destroy it with one blow, I was yet withheld from doing

so, partly by a memory of my former crime." ("The Black

Cat", pg.396) It seems as if his conscience of his former

crime is restricting him from choices he once might have

made.  The narrator's feeling of guilt is eased by the

discovery of a new cat.  This turns out to be too much for

him to take.  As the narrator is trying

to kill the second cat, his wife gets in the way and he

kills her instead of the cat. After this happens his guilt

is very unnoticeable.  A cry is heard as the police are

searching hi house and eventually reach the tomb in which

his wife is hidden.  It was "Quickly swelling into one long

, loud, and continuous scream... a wailing shriek, half

horror and half triumph..." ("The Black Cat", pg.400) Again

this scream signifies the triumph of the conscience or of

good over the evil deed that the character has attempted to

conceal. 

      The novel Crime and Punishment deals with this same

idea of the role that guilt plays in the downfall of a

murder.  Raskolnikov begins his dealings with his conscience

very soon after the crime.  Raskolnikov leaves clues around

"...because all his mental faculties were weakened and

shaken - his mind was clouded." (Crime and Punishment,

pg.109) This cloud of judgment causes Raskolnikov to attempt

to avoid his conscience.  He explains "What is it?  Am I

still delirious or is it all real?  I think it's real?... oh

I remember now I must run." (Crime and Punishment, pg.146)

Raskolnikov continues to sway back and forth between

admitting his guilt, and trying to escape it.  It is shown

through several events that Raskolnikov's crime has led him

to the solitude of delirium and it gradually eats him away

inside.  The realization is finally made that he is not the

extraordinary man that he thought he was.  He states,

     

     

     

      I am a louse', he added, grinding his teeth, "because I myself am perhaps worse and nastier than the louse I killed, and I knew beforehand that I would say that after killing her!" (Crime and Punishment, pg.292)

     

As the Raskolnikov's deterioration continues, he finally

comes to the realization that his conscience cannot deal

with this any longer.  "It was I who killed the old woman

money-lender and her sister Lisaveta with a hatchet and

robbed them." (Crime and Punishment, pg.542) The confession

given at to end his ordeal is a direct relation

to his conscience. 

      This is much like "The Tell-Tale Heart" in which the

narrator also confesses, ""Villians!" I shrieked, "dissemble

no more!  I admit the deed - tear up the planks! - here,

here! - it is the beating of his hideous heart!" ("The

Tell-Tale Heart", pg.389) It is not stated that the narrator

admits his guilt but is certainly is symbolized by the

scream.  This also leads to the downfall of this character,

much like the others. It is truly obvious that each

characters conscience leads them to insanity which in turn

leads to their own downfall.

     

      A murderer's journey includes several distinct stages. 

These stages:  being a normal human being, taking a turning

point to cause the murder, and dealing with his conscience

are all followed in each and every case of study.  The

character that has committed the murder travels through this

process.  This journey is a process that is happening in

everyday society, and is clearly illustrated through each

piece of literature.

Bibliography

Dostoevsky, Fyodor Milchailovich. Crime and Punishment. Markham: Penguin Classics, 1983.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 390-401.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 496-503.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 384-390.

a modest essay

ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

A meaningjull Ghost story

The short story  "A Haunted House" is story with meaning, by portraying to us the treasure of life.  When two ghosts are searching through their old house, looking for their "Treasure", the treasure  or meaning is revealed to us.  The joy and love shared between two people is the treasure, the treasure of life.   By using irony and stream of consciousness Virginia Woolf is able to reveal the meaning of the story.

     Virginia Woolf uses a style called the "Stream of Consciousness", revealing the lives of her characters by revealing their thoughts and associations.   We learn about the ghosts past by seeing what they thoughts and associated with there pasts.    For example when they were discussing death she put  " "Here we slept," she said. And he adds, "Kisses without number." "Waking in the morning_" "Silver between the trees." "Upstairs-" "In the garden-" "When summer came-" "In the winter snowtime-" "( A Haunted House Pg. 321). This quote shows us what places and actions the ghosts associate with  there joy and love.  Using stream of consciousness gives us a better feeling of what the characters are going through, which in turn gives us a better understanding of the meaning.

       We also see the use of irony, using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning.  The irony is that the story is titled "A Haunted  House" which made us think that the house was an evil place.  The house ends up being where every thing good happens.  The ghosts did not haunt the people , instead they make them realize the treasure they have.  By seeing how much the ghosts valued finding their treasure it makes the people take a harder look at what their treasure is, the love and joy they share.  It is very evident when she says " Now they found it, one would be certain, stopping the pencil on the margin. And then, tired of reading, one might rise and see for one self"(A Haunted House Pg. 321).   The irony draws use in by making us think that we are about read a trivial ghost story, but instead, gives us a deeper and more meaningful interpretation of ones life.

     By Virginia Woolf's use of, streaming consciousness and irony she is rather dramatically able to portray her thoughts on the meaning of "A Haunted House". That the joy and love shared between two people is the treasure of life.

A Meaningful Ghost Story

Trevor Wood

Mr. Thompson

English OA1

2 Feb. 1997

A Cloned Chop

Cloning opens many doors of opportunities in the agricultural aspect of the United States of America.  It has already been a major factor in saving the lives of many humans.  I feel the society as a whole can not and should not degrade this scientifical finding.  I feel that human cloning should not be done and that this subject raises too many ethical questions.  I would like to focus on an agricultural aspect if I may.  People raised hell when animal parts were put into humans to save lives and today it is an accepted part of medicinal science.  I feel that cloning in an agricultural and medicinal aspect will become the same as transplanted animal parts.  It will go through much debate, but ten years from now it will be accepted scientifically, socially, and morally.  In an article in Newsweek called A Cloned Chop, Anyone?  They take a somewhat neutral, but also somewhat negative viewpoint of cloning in an agricultural and medicinal sense.  They admit some good aspects of this genetic engineering, but they still seem pessimistic of the future of cloning in animals excluding humans.

      The first thing the article states is the Wall Street opportunities for the biotech field.  Instead of phone calls from eager investors only phone calls from reporters were coming in asking about this market.  I feel that now would be a great time to invest in biotechnical companies specializing in agricultural and medicinal cloning.  This article says nothing about the great potentials of long term investment.  Long term investment especially in the medicinal field is incredibly profitable.  Just as in other controversial investing opportunities I feel that investors will find they could have made a lot of money if they invested in this area.  Ten to fifteen years from now this agricultural cloning will be a commonly routine thing and price wars will begin for the products produced by them which means many great investment opportunities will be available.  But one must remember that Wall Street is extremely short term investing so this is a good explanation for not many investors being interested in this because it is still many years before tangible and profitable products are made from cloning.

      The article goes on to say the Scottish scientists have a lot of good ideas, but they seem to be only a sci-fi adventure.  Once again I disagree.  Scottish scientists are trying to help the human race, not be lucrative mad scientists looking for another way to manipulate the human race.  The following are some things that have already been done with genetic engineering and they are helpful to us, the human race.  They plan on genetically engineering cows that produce altered milk formulas for premature infants.  This is great I do not know how anyone can go against this because if their infant's life were on the line they would do everything in their power to save their child's life.  Also they are genetically engineering animal organs to be more similar to those of humans.  So just like we have been trying to do we can take organs from animals and successfully transplant them into humans.  Again this will save many lives of people with terminal diseases that can be saved by organ transplant.  

      Cloning is referred in the genetics area as transgenics.  Some companies have been altering genes of animals with genes of humans to produce proteins needed to fight cancer and other diseases.  Cloning may further enhance this procedure witch will help catalyst this treatment easily past the human testing stage into curing these horrible diseases.  One company has already bred cows that may produce milk containing a protein essential for infants who can not nurse.  Again I see no down side to this product and cloning will help speed this research along so we can save lives.

      The article next talks about some positives.  It tells how sheep with proteins necessary for saving human lives can be breed more efficiently with cloning.  Right now only one or two out of every ten sheep produce the proteins needed.  However with cloning these "good" sheep can be cloned.  Then they breed with other clones to make a whole generation of sheep with the desired protein.  One company in the biotech field PPL is hoping to genetically engineer animals that will produce a tissue glue for use in surgery and a drug for cystic fibrosis.

      Finally the article states at the end that does anyone want to eat a cloned chop.  Well the major restaurant chains did not seem interested.  But first off only one sheep has been produced.  I am sure they are not going to butcher the only clone to see how it tastes.  I do not feel people should disclaim cloned meat.  If an extremely good beef generation was produced they could be cloned.  This would give excellent beef all year round and year after year.  Of course cloning should not over take natural breeding, because through natural breeding we find more and better varieties of livestock.  I am sure that the meat would be very tasty and palatable.  The same goes true for grains, corn, and other plants.  A superior seed may be available for worldwide use through cloning.  

Overall there are many possible positive benefits of cloning in an agricultural and medicinal aspects.  As of now no one has the authority or right to belittle cloning.  Besides there is not even scientific evidence to support any refutations to go against any cases about cloning that may appear in a court of law.  We must be patient as a world community to see what develops of this subject.  But it is years away from hitting the market; all we can do is hope and wait that someday cloning will better the human race and ourselves.