Two Reading Journals Essay Example for Free

Two Reading Journals Essay â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor is a story which utilizes caricatures of people to reveal some aspects of character that all readers can identify with.   While the characters on the literal level seem too unreasonably stereotyped to be real, some of their behaviors and responses are actually very similar to those of all humanity.   For example, the Grandmother begins as the quintessential nagging, hyper-critical, self-absorbed old woman that everyone prefers to ignore. However, her constant spouting of religious maxims and her ability to use her holier-than-thou attitude for guilt purposes is a trait that many readers recognize in their own family members or even themselves, perhaps as the oppressed son, even.    After the initial encounter with the Misfit, these stereotypical demeanors fade away, and the real personality of the characters can come through.    This is similar to the concept that people’s true selves come through in times of great trial or emergency.   The bratty children clam up in fear, and the grandmother begins to treat the Misfit with an almost caring respect, which he doesn’t buy, of course.   Her ultimate attempt to â€Å"save† the Misfit from sin fails, just as her attempt to win loyalty from her son by guilting him into doing her bidding fails.   However, she is forced into thinking about someone else, in this case the Misfit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† by Joyce Carol Oates tells the story of a tough talking teen girl who is constantly concerned with the appearance she projects to the outside world.   Her tough exterior is extremely believable, as many teens suffer from this underlying lack of confidence. However, her pursuit by the psychotic Arnold Friend forces her t realize that not everyone will fall for the tough and cool exterior. Arnold’s friendly exterior keeps her off guard just long enough for him to draw her in.  Ã‚   He knows that deep inside she is scared and eager to please; this is how he wins her ultimate and fatal compliance.   He had forced her to realize that she was not the tough chick she wanted to be, and she notes that she just felt empty.   The shell was cracked, and there was nothing inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both of these stories contrast the exterior of a person with his or her interior.   In the face of a perilous situation, both the Grandmother and Connie realize they cannot fall back on their usual game.   Both, then allow themselves to be victimized in the absence of any other choices.

Faulkner’s Relationship with his Daughter in the Film, William Faulkner

Faulkner’s Relationship with his Daughter in the Film, William Faulkner: A Life on Paper William Faulkner: A Life on Paper presents Faulkner as a struggling writer, father, and human being. He was moody, a periodic alcoholic, often in debt, affected in manner, and seemingly unable to make and retain significant relationships. Yet despite his apparent failings as a man (or perhaps because of them), Faulkner is perhaps the most successful and influential American literary artist of the 20th-century. Faulkner paved the way for many women writers to take up their pens and continue his literary quest into humankind’s psyche and the truth of our existence. His fathering of the many writers we will be reading this semester was a significant one; however, I am unsure if Jill Faulkner Sommers is able to forgive her father for his apparent neglect of fathering his true daughter. It is a commonly supposed that geniuses are able to produce their masterpieces because they are geniuses - because they do not act according to the customary social expectations of â€Å"average† human beings. They ...

The Tony Ferguson Weight Management Diet

The Tony Ferguson Weight Management Diet: An Information Fact Sheet for Community Members Overview: The Tony Ferguson Diet is a weight loss and management diet, which is based on specialized shakes, soups, bars and muesli. The diet is advertised as low GI and low carbohydrate. The diet is designed to induce the individual into a state of ketosis, ‘Ketone bodies are produced mainly in the mitochondria of liver cells. Its synthesis occurs in response to low glucose levels in the blood, and after exhaustion of cellular carbohydrate stores, such as glycogen.The production of ketone bodies is then initiated to make available energy that is stored as fatty acids. ’ (Wikipedia, 2012). The individual is advised to consume 2 specialized meals per day along with two servings of fruit, 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of lean meat. Advice: Advice to the consumer is that of caution. The human body requires carbohydrates to survive. Many functions of the body require carbohydr ates to function effectively. The Tony Ferguson diet effectively induces the body into a mode of starvation, can develop into disease.Ketosis is the desired state of the Tony Ferguson diet, this is where ‘Ketone bodies provide an alternative fuel source during starvation, but when their production exceeds their use, they accumulate in the blood, causing ketosis, a condition that disturbs the body’s normal acid-base balance. ’ (Whitney et al, 2011). When the body is in a state of starvation and it is experiencing a lower than required amount of carbohydrates, ‘the body finds a way to use its fat to fuel the brain.It adapts by combining acetyl COA fragments derived from fatty acids to produce an alternative energy source, ketone bodies. ’ (Whitney et al, 2011). This state can change the normal pH of the blood. ‘This is ketosis, a sign that the body’s chemistry is going away’. (Whitney et al, 2011). The blood glucose of the human bod y is maintained by homeostasis and is extremely important for many of the body’s major functions. ‘When a person eats, blood glucose rises. High blood glucose stimulates the pancreas to release insulin.Insulin stimulates the uptake of glucose into cells and storage as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Insulin also stimulates the conversion of excess glucose into fat for storage. As the body’s cells use glucose, blood levels decline. Low blood glucose stimulates the pancreas to release glucagon into the bloodstream. Glucagon stimulates liver cells to break down glycogen and release glucose into the blood. Blood glucose begins to rise. ’ (Whitney et al, 2011). Carbohydrates are essential for human nutrition and as such, this extreme diet may cause extremely adverse effects.It is recommended that a varied and nutritionally sound diet and exercise program be implemented and that extreme diets such as Tony Ferguson be implemented only as a last resort and alwa ys under medical advice. Reference List: Author Unknown, 2012, Wikipedia, Viewed: 11 April 2012, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ketogenesis. Whitney, E. Rolfes, S. Crowe, T. Cameron-Smith, D. Walsh, A. 2011, Understanding Nutrition, 1st Ed, Cengage Learning, Melbourne. Chosen Diet: http://us. tonyferguson. com/1448. aspx

Who Was the Inventor of Hoover Vacuum Cleaners

It might stand to reason that the Hoover vacuum cleaner was invented by someone named Hoover, but that’s surprisingly not the case. It was an inventor named James Spangler who invented the first portable electric vacuum cleaner in 1907. The Janitor With a Better Idea   Spangler was working as a janitor working at the Zollinger Department Store in Ohio when the idea of a portable electric vacuum cleaner first came to him. The carpet sweeper he used on the job was making him cough a lot and this was dangerous because Spangler was an asthmatic. Unfortunately, he didn’t have many other options because standard â€Å"vacuum cleaners† at the time were large, unwieldy affairs pulled by horses and not exactly conducive to indoor cleaning. Spangler decided to come up with his own version of a vacuum cleaner, one that wouldnt  endanger his health. He wasn’t new to inventing, as  he’d already patented a grain harvester in 1897 and a form of hay rake in 1893. He began tinkering with an old fan motor, which he attached it to a soap box stapled to a broom handle. He then converted an old pillowcase into a dust collector and attached that as well. Spanglers contraption eventually became the first vacuum cleaner to use both a cloth filter bag and cleaning attachments as he improved his basic model. He received a patent for it in 1908. Spangler’s asthma was better, but his vacuum got off to a somewhat shaky start. He wanted to manufacture what he called his â€Å"suction sweeper† on his own and  formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company to make it happen. Unfortunately, investors were hard to come by and manufacturing was at a virtual standstill until he happened to demonstrate his new vacuum cleaner to his cousin. William Hoover Takes Over Spangler’s cousin Susan Hoover was married  to businessman William Hoover, who was suffering some of his own financial frustrations at the time. Hoover made and sold saddles, harnesses, and other leather products for horses, just as automobiles were steadfastly beginning to replace horses. Hoover was itching for a new business opportunity when his wife told him about Spangler’s vacuum cleaner and arranged for a demonstration. Hoover was so impressed with the vacuum cleaner that he promptly bought Spanglers business and his patents. He became the president of the Electric Suction Sweeper Company and renamed it the Hoover Company. Production was initially limited to an average of six vacuums a day that no one particularly wanted to buy. Hoover wasn’t discouraged and began offering customers free trials and signed up a slew of door-to-door salesmen who could take the invention into homes and show the housewives at the time how well they worked. Sales began to boom.  Eventually, there was a Hoover vacuum in nearly every American home. Hoover made further improvements to Spanglers vacuum cleaner over the years, as its often said that Spanglers original model resembled a bagpipe attached to a cake box.  Spangler stayed on with the Hoover Company as its superintendent, never officially retiring. His wife, son, and daughter all worked for the company as well. Spangler died in January 1914, the night before he was scheduled to take his first vacation.