The Mystery of the Mayan Decline Essay Example for Free

The Mystery of the Mayan Decline Essay Can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. It is believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. After her death, her successor removed as many remnants of her rule as possible. Although a pharaoh, her mummified remains and tomb have never been conclusively found. Tutankhamen died young, at around 18 years of age. However, his cause of death has not been confirmed. Did he die of an injury, of illness, or was he murdered? Considered the â€Å"Mummy’s Curse,† a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The monumental size and complexity of

Blogs - Blogging for Change Essay examples -- Internet Online Communic

Blogging for Change History itself has always fundamentally been encompassed by the history of writing. Before writing there was no history, but ever since then writing has shaped it in complicated and far reaching ways. The progression of writing, from simply a method of counting left to the elites in society to a universal communication system that allows people to share and explain ideas, has had tremendous historical implications. With the invention of the computer, came the Internet and in turn the web log. The web log is a new platform for writers to communicate with. It can allow for a running correspondence between people complete with remarks and instant access. The question is what does this new software tool mean for the history of writing? If using a web log becomes wide spread it would result in a gradual change in the way which people write. People would base their writing on their feelings and emotions rather than logical arguments. However, despite all the irrational statements , the exposure to other people's ideas would stimulate debate about controversial issues and help people understand the details about complex topics so that they could better formulate their own opinions. Despite any immediate accessibility to web logs, changes like this are not going to happen over night. It will take time and people will have to change their habits, but it could happen. To understand the direction that writing will take with the introduction of blogging technology, the foundation of writing must be discussed first. The invention of writing first came about in Sumerian civilization as a means to count various goods, and the progression of the writing in Sumer developed from roughly 8000 to 3000 B.C. (S... ...et said and discussed, even the bad ideas, so that they can be acknowledged and refuted. Discussions on controversial topics will expose people to new points of view and culturally enrich their thinking and give them a better understanding of the world. The stereotypical lazy uninformed modern day citizen could become aware of issues around the world and more politically active with wide spread use of the blog. In a world where everybody is forced to discuss things, where there is not any option besides discussion, it seems like peace is possible. Maybe if the real world were just a little bit more like a blog, where violence just simply is not an option, then the world would really know what it is like to be civilized. Works Cited Schmandt-Beeserat, "From Accounting to Written Language" in The Social Construction of Written Communication (pp. 119-130)

Albert Camus The Stranger: Existentialism and Absurdism Essay

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger and not only serves as one of the themes but probably the main reason Albert Camus wrote the book altogether. Presented in first person narration through the eyes of Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, the novel serves to evoke the creed of existentialism through the embodiment of the philosophy in a person. Meursault’s speech, thought, and actions are what Camus believed a person who innately possessed the tenets of existentialism would have. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by Albert Camus. â€Å"Maman died today or yesterday maybe, I don’t know†. These opening lines of the novel serve not only to introduce the novel but to summarize it as well. Rather than focusing on what is important-his mother’s death-Meursault is focused on when exactly she died; whether it was yesterday or today, since the telegraph only stated the funeral would be tomorrow. Right away, within the very first sentence, the reader is introduced to existentialism incarnate. Meursault exhibits a complete and utter indifference to life manifested by a profound lack of emotion. He doesn’t care when his mother died, in fact the fact that he has to attend the funeral altogether is the most troubling part of this whole ordeal to him. When he finally gets to the funeral, he couldn’t care less about his mother-as he rejects the offer to open the casket-but is utterly consumed by the days heat. Camus does a great job in the first part of the novel of demonstrating to the reader not only the philosophy of existentialism, but a corporal representation of it as well. This corporal representation of existentialism is what makes The Stranger the unique book it is. As opposed to the multitude of books and manifestos approaching existentialism from an academic perspective, The Stranger approaches the philosophy by detailing a character with the belief innately in him and showing how someone like this might behave. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal world of his thoughts and attitudes possesses any rational order. Meursault has no discernable reason for his actions, such as his decision to marry Marie and his decision to kill the Arab. The book, narrated by Meursault, is basically life detailed superficially by him. He talks about the weather, the food he’s eating, about the things he did that day rather than how he feels or thinks of other people, places and things. This is how a person consumed with existentialism would behave and think-indifferently and apathetically. Meursault passes no judgment on people and is ultimate executed for killing an Arab for no apparent reason. The philosophy or theory of Existentialism is somewhat controversial, but nonetheless in many respects it has some notable and legitimate points. If one were to truly take a look at the universe, it would seem purposeless. And humans do in fact possess the innate desire, or rather compulsion, to explain things and have things figured out-thus explaining their need to associate a purpose with the universe, even when it doesn’t necessarily exist. But what made this theory come about in the 19th century when it could have been realized centuries before? The reason is the tragedy and devastation the world saw at this time-several world wars in specific. If we take a look at the life of Albert Camus himself, it’s hard to deny the fact that there is a connection between the existentialism’s inception and personal tragedy. In 1914, Camus’ Father was drafted into WWI and killed in France. In 1934 he Married Simone Hie, but divorced her two years later. In 1939 he volunteered for service in WWII, but was rejected due to illness. In 1940 he wrote an essay on the state of Muslims in Algeria causing him to lose his job and move to Paris. In 1941 he joined the French resistance against the Nazis and became an editor of Combat, an underground newspaper. These, as well as many other incidents and events in Camus’ life influenced him in the sense that they formed in him a bleak, pessimistic view of life. This perspective undoubtedly set the foundation for his adoption of the theory of existentialism. â€Å"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life. † The point illuminated in this quote by Camus is that although some consider viewing life with despair to be wrong, or sinful, in reality hoping for an after life, â€Å"another life†, or living a life of implacable grandeur is the real sin. Camus held strong to the belief of Absurdism, or the belief that humanity’s effort to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail-thus it is absurd to try to find meaning or to live as though there is a meaning because no such meaning exists. While Absurdism might seem like a synonym for Existentialism, the two are slightly different. Existentialism makes the point that there is no purpose or meaning in the universe. Absurdism goes a step further to say that not only is life purposeless, but any attempt at finding meaning is utterly absurd. Albert Camus, being the polarized man that he was, held more firmly to the belief of Absurdism than existentialism. In writing The Stranger, Albert Camus championed the idea of existentialism, a philosophy he truly believed in it. But the philosophy of existentialism is not free of criticism. Herbert Marcuse criticized existentialism, especially in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, for projecting certain features of living in a modern, oppressive society, such as anxiety and meaninglessness, onto the nature of existence itself: â€Å"In so far as Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine, it remains an idealistic doctrine: it hypothesizes specific historical conditions of human existence into ontological and metaphysical characteristics. Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory† What Marcuse is saying here is that existentialism makes the mistake of thinking that just because human conditions are tragic and seem to lack a purpose, that they in fact do. Whether or not there is purpose to the universe is an ontological and metaphysical subject, not one that can be realized through historical events. Existentialism and its brother philosophy Absurdism are philosophies that emphasize the uniqueness and isolation of the individual in a hostile and indifferent world, and stress the fact the universe has no discernable purpose. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger as Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, embodies the tenets of existentialism intrinsically. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Bibliography1. â€Å"Existentialism. † The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers. com 28 Mar. 2007. http://www. answers. com/topic/existentialism2. Marcuse, Herbert. â€Å"Sartre’s Existentialism†. Printed in Studies in Critical Philosophy. Translated by Joris De Bres. London: NLB, 1972. p. 1613. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Middlesex: UK Penguin Classics, 1943. 4. Sartre, Jean P. Existentialism is a Humanism. World Company, 1956. 5. â€Å"Albert Camus. † 28 Mar. 2007 . 6. White, Ray. â€Å"The Meaning of Life. † 2004. 29 Mar. 2007 .

Essay about Emily Dickinsons God - 3044 Words

Emily Dickinsons God Works Cited Not Included God, to Emily Dickinson, is seen in more than a church or a cathedral. God is seen in her poems in relationship to such themes as nature and the individual existence. These thematic ties are seen in such poems as It might be lonelier, and Some keep the Sabbath going to church. Some keep the Sabbath going to Church consists of the differences that exist between Dickinsons way of being close to God and many other peoples ways of being close to God. While some may go to church every Sunday in honor of the Sabbath, Dickinson stays home and reflects. A bobolink is her Chorister and instead of a clergyman preaching, God preaches (Hillman†¦show more content†¦What Dickinson ultimately finds right with the world is nature and emotion. Nature and emotion overlap to become God. Nature, for Dickinson, was the means for the enjoyment of the senses, says Brenner (288). Feeling God is knowing God, to Dickinson, and one of the ways that she feels him is in nature. In, Some keep the Sabbath, the direct connection is made. Dickinson feels God in a bobolink, a chorister, an orchard, or a sexton. What Dickinson finds especially stuffy and heartless in this world is the church structure and she will not tie that in with the loving God she has felt first hand. Dickinson parallels her way of keeping the Sabbath to the traditional way of keeping the Sabbath throughout the poem. She capitalizes both the traditional methods, and her methods. God preaches, a noted Clergyman, (Hillman 36). Dickinson is not trying to prove that her way is better but rather that her way is just as good as the way of others. While others keep the Sabbath listening to a preacher, Dickinson keeps the Sabbath listening to God. She goes straight to the source, without the mediation of a preacher, or the support of a congregation. Ultimately, the theme of Some keep theShow MoreRelatedThe Works of Emily Dickinson726 Words   |  3 Pages Emily Dickinson’s writing reflects the Realistic period through personal themes: death, isolation, God, marriage, women in society, and love. Dickinson’s writing is affected by numerous factors. Among these are her family, the Realism period, and her life experiences. Emily Dickinson herself was a sort of mystery. Emily Dickinson’s background had a profound effect on her writing. Family always plays an important role in the upbringing of an individual. Her grandfather had a prominent position inRead MoreDickinson and Her Religion Essay1074 Words   |  5 PagesDickinson and her Religion Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest woman poets. She left us with numerous works that show us her secluded world. Like other major artists of nineteenth-century American introspection such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Melville, Dickinson makes poetic use of her vacillations between doubt and faith. 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This is poem number 338, and it is one of her most famous poems even though most people do not understand it (Faulkner 8). Emily Dickinson is a well-known poet, but it was not always like that. During her lifetime, Dickinson rarely published her poems, and it was not until later that she became famous for her work (Crumbley 1). During Emily Dickinson’s life, she was a reserved person, to the pointRead MoreTheology Leads to Interpretation1336 Words   |  6 PagesEmily Dickinson’s extensive collection of poems on the subject of death can be better understood individually once time has been taken to view her works as whole. By viewing the works as a whole, it is possible to conclude a likely theological view point of the author and then apply this theology to the individual works in order to improve interpretation. 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