Enders Game Essay Example for Free

Enders Game Essay Human beings are free except when humanity needs them. Maybe humanity needs you. To do something. Maybe humanity needs me—to find out what youre good for. We might both do despicable things, Ender, but if humankind survives, then we were good tools. Graff is explaining to Ender the philosophy behind everything they are doing. Although Ender does not know it at the time, this is the same reasoning that the adults will use to manipulate the children time and time again. Ender objects to this idea, because he believes that people are more than just tools, but nevertheless it is the pervading ideology of the I.F. throughout the book. This philosophy justifies doing terrible things in the name of humanity, and it also means that individuals will have to make awful sacrifices for their species. In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think its impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. Ender is telling Valentine why he hates himself. He is able to understand his enemies better than anyone else, but once he understands them he destroys them. With such tremendous empathy, even in coming to understand his worst enemies Ender loves them. This means that when he crushes them he is hurting himself in the process. Ender does not want to have enemies, so that he will not be forced to hurt anybody. He will love even those who seem to be his most bitter enemies when he properly understands them. But in the situations Ender has been in he has no choice other than destroying those enemies. At the end of the book, when Ender comes to truly understand the buggers, he is able to try to help them. He has already done them great harm, but now he can be happy because he has a chance to undo what he did to them. So the whole war is because we cant talk to each other. If the other fellow cant tell you his story, you can never be sure he isnt trying to kill you. What if we just left them alone? Ender, we didnt go to them first, they came to us. If they were going to leave us alone, they could have done it a hundred years ago, before the First Invasion. Maybe they didnt know we were intelligent life. Maybe— This conversation occurs when Graff tells Ender his theory of why they are at war with the buggers. Graff tells Ender that since the buggers communicate through thought, they probably cannot understand that humans are thinking beings. Ender therefore wants to know why this cannot be remedied.

Fight Club Essay -- Movie Film

Fight Club Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Meatloaf Director: David Fincher Writer: Jim Uhls Based on Novel By: Chuck Palahniuk Studio: Fox Studio Rating: R 18+ Genre: Action, Thriller Running Time: 139 minutes approx. Filming Locations: Los Angeles and California Special Effects: Many of the visual effects in Fight Club have been overshadowed by effect-based movies (LOTR, The Matrix) but upon closer examination I found that they were perfect in their own right. They depicted a chaotic sense of disengagement, not only from society but also from oneself. Two of the most technically advanced shot were CGIs (computer generated enhancements) of Jack’s IKEA apartment. One was a tracking shot, entering through the door and circling his apartment before zooming to a macro shot of the back of his fridge, that apparently contained a gas leak that in turn led to the demise of his apartment. The other apartment-based shot was almost comical, a shot circling through his apartment labelling his designer furniture and appliances, not unlike a magazine catalogue. Although not a breakthrough in the world of visual effects, when combined with the atmosphere of Jacks cynical, mundane voiceovers and brilliant cinematography it makes for an enchanting shot that gives a ver y true to life insight of the average material-bound American male. Cinematography: Jack realises that Tyler was a creation of his own mind, in a feeble attempt to finally free himself from the restraints society places on him, a 360 ° pan circles him, getting more erratic and destabilised as it finally sinks in. Diversity is the key to Fight Clubs style of cinematography, in every aspect from the shot itself, to its point of view. From observing a security television monitor displaying Jack, coming to terms with his inner demon to Jack in a state of euphoria, were he is introduced to his power animal, a CG penguin that tells Jack simply to â€Å"slide†. In another standout sequence Tyler gives Jack a severe chemical burn, and in hope of dismissing his raging pain Jack begins to mediate, where he refers back to his power animal before being slapped in the face and told â€Å"Stay with the pain, I’m giving you the f*ing experience of your life and your drifting in Tibet†. He attempts to meditate again, and the viewer is subjected to a breathtak ing contrast ... ... misunderstood. This film is not only entertaining but it also raised public awareness. No doubt many people will buy into Tyler’s extremist point of view, if only for a short amount of time, but in this time they will understand what many people from all over the world feel constantly, an urge to fight authority, an urge to be individual and stop following the mainstream. Tyler’s ideals may be summarised in one quote, â€Å"You cannot truly be free until you’ve lost everything†. This philosophy is perfect in theory; you are ridding yourself of restricting material possessions and all other things that bind you into society. Unfortunantly life isn’t all theory and when an individual does lose everything they feel anything but free. This film was a wake up call to me and hopefully to many others, not only about the over importance we place on material possessions and the power they have over us, but the restraints that society places on us as wel l. Conclusion: A film worth seeing no matter what the occasion, Fight Club has a serious philosophical meaning for the deeper audiences and could still keep a person with the attention span of an ant entertained viewing after viewing.

Snow Boarding Descriptive Essay

Alex Fulton Descriptive essay GSW 1110 â€Å"The rush† As the clicking noise of the not so steady ski-lift chimes away, I hold on tightly, looking down at the people below. This being my first time doing anything in or around snow, I was very excited to be going snowboarding. While the ski-lift jerked back and forth my friend Corey enlightened me on the tips for staying alive while I went down the hill. I was trying to pay attention but I was just so eager to snowboard that his tips weren't registering in my head. We reached the top of the ski-lift and I hopped off only to then fall on my face into the cold, hard snow. I stood up and time seemed to stand still as I watched the snow slowly fall down to earth. I put my goggles back on my face, strapped my feet into my board's bindings and looked down the monstrous mountain. This was it and there was no turning back. My adrenaline was flowing through my body faster than a strike of lightening. I was terrified and amazed all at the same time. Going down the mountain felt like floating on air. With the fresh layer of white powder spreading everywhere it felt like I was traveling faster than a race car in the Daytona 500. Carving down the mountain it seemed like it was never going to end. Speed kept picking up and snow seemed to leap purposely on my goggles. The thought of falling or hitting a tree mortified my mind. With my face smothered in cold ice, I'm trying to clear my goggles without losing my balance. I haven't learned to stop or slow down on my snowboard yet, and I'm regretting it. While I am attempting to dodge the fellow skiers and snowboarders my speed has become so intense that I am afraid of the next possible actions I could take on this horrifically monstrous hill. 1 Losing balance, I know that I am eventually going to have to stop myself before I increase too much speed and put my health at risk. Taking a deep breath, I begin to make the biggest wipe-out that could happen in only 30 seconds. As I go to stop, I turn into a position so I land on my knees instead of my back. Thinking that this would be an easy, painless solution, I jam my knees into the hill and try to stop myself. Instead, I fall backwards onto my head, still plummeting down, but now in immense pain. After a few somersaults and excruciating positions I land into the soft snow bank on the side of the hill. I have officially stopped my hectic run. I laid there quietly on my back looking into the sky, watching the snow fall in slow motion as if someone was to watch dust slowly come to rest in rays of sunlight. Then it all hit me, the pain was flowing throughout my body. In the background I hear Corey frantically yelling my name. I was so focused on the pain throughout my body I couldn't even say a word to let him know I was ok. Corey called out for help, and the ski-patrol rushed to my aid. Little did I know my wrist had snapped on impact. The patrol rushed me down the mountain on a ski type stretcher. Again I was on my back falling in and out of conciousness. The sky seemed to get dimmer and dimmer as we approached the bottom of the mountain. Looking up at the ski-patrol I could tell in their eyes something bad had happened to me with my fall. Their eyes looked more nervous than my mind going down the mountain for the first time. The adrenaline I felt carving down the mountain was now being replaced by a lump in my throat. After what felt like years we reached the bottom of the mountain and the silence of the park was broken by the emitting sounds of an ambulance. I knew I was inside the emergency vehicle because I could feel the change in temperature. My frozen cheeks seemed to slowly thaw back to their original state and I could finally feel my feet again. Literally within minutes we arrived at the hospital. My worries weren't even focused on myself but on my board. All I wanted to know was where it was and if it was damaged. The paramedics assured me that my board was picked up by my friend Corey and was safe in his possession. 2 Still with every beat of my heart a jolt of pain was sent through my body straight to my left wrist. The pain was almost unbearable and seemed as if a hammer was beating down on my arm. I was instantly rushed into Emergency room where the doctors ordered x-ray and pain medication for me. After taking my medication I fell a drift into a light sleep. I dreamed that I was still carving down the mountain, as if nothing ever went wrong. I felt unstoppable as I was ripping through the snow on my board. It felt like no-one could match the skills I had on the mountain. Then I awoke. I was in front of a fire back at the resort. If it wasn't for my cast and emergency room bracelet I would have swore that everything that happened was all a dream. The heat emitting from the fireplace began to soothe my nerves and I began to unwind. As I sat there and watched from the lodge, I was already thinking of when I could get back out on the slopes. Though that was out of question for awhile, the thrill and urge of flying down the mountain almost made me want to get back on the board that day. Its funny how much I still love the sport after something this terrible happened. The adrenaline rush and high speeds going down the mountain is almost addicting to me. The way it feels to almost hover on top of the ground carving down a mountain is a unbeatable experience. I cant wait until the day comes that I can yet again feel myself flying down the mountain with the snow being burst everywhere like a snowy white volcano just erupted. This is what I live for. 3

A Observation Paper On The Library - 1925 Words

For my Participant Observation Paper, I decided to go and observe the library. It seemed like a nice, quiet place to go for an assignment like this. I also thought that not many other people would choose this place, so it would be unique. The observations I made at the library astounded me; I had never noticed these things before. Here is a quick summary of my observations: the mood of the atmosphere was changed by the color, temperature, lighting, and etc. in the library. Another thing was that people were unexpectedly critical towards one another, but teenagers didn’t seem to care about the distinctive origins of some of the individuals in the library. Finally, the body language of the adults varied significantly to the body language of the adolescents. Everyone was divided by their dissimilarities and I could not believe the vast cavity. I went to observe the library on the 17th of September, which was a Saturday. The time I was there was from 11:20 – 12:00. This was a startlingly eventful time, particularly because it was a Saturday. The location of the library is Washington, Iowa. It is located on the square. This was where I made my observations. The environment in the library was welcoming and very quiet. The lighting was soft and gave the structure a warm yellow tone. There were windows wherever you could fit them, letting in a decent share of natural light. Most of the colors in the library were distinctive shades of green and brown, which worked well together. TheyShow MoreRelatedSociological Imagination1391 Words   |  6 Pagesmacro level, which consists of the larger aspects of life such as family and government, and their micro level, (which is the individual itself) combine in order form the person they are. Using my sociological imagination I decided to observe the library through the use of symbolic interactionism, one of four sociological perspectives. 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