The Difficuly Finding the Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

The Difficuly Finding the Meaning of Life Essay A sense of meaning is needed in humans or else we become discouraged and lost and can even end up looking for meaning in harmful ways. People who cannot find in meaning in their life are susceptible to cults and manipulation from others as well as depression. In J. D. Salinger’s novel the catcher in the Rye, The main character (Holden) is having difficulty finding the meaning of life. Everyone is bound to spend some time in their life searching for meaning. Holden does not make an effort to do well in school nor does he make an effort to fit in with others. He looks at others as phonies merely trying to imitate each other and questions all social norms that are pressured upon him. Today is no different from Holden’s time when it comes to finding the meaning of life; the media often suggests that the meaning of life is seeking pleasures such as sex, drugs and money, Parents drive the children to focus on their education and their worth in society. Holden does not pursue sexual conquests as a youth and resents most girls around him because of their large need to conform. This is uncommon for someone Holden’s age and causes him to stand out from those around him. He does not appear to be content with his life and does not have a strong peer group to support him. Holden disappoints his parents, teachers, and many other mentor figures throughout his youth. I also have questioned the value of education and whether or not spending a third of my life preparing for work, a third of my life working and a third of my life retired is really the most fulfilling plan in life. One reason I believe Holden is having a hard time finding meaning in life is that he starts off without any role models. He does not idolize his brother and resents his parents. I also have found choosing role models in life to be a difficult decision. Because Holden focuses so strongly on people’s negative qualities he misses the more beautiful and sought after qualities of their personalities and therefore has a hard time relating to them. This causes Holden to become more or less isolated from those around him. I have often questioned the meaning of life and realized that my idea of a meaningful life is quite different from some of my peers. This moral difference between me and many often stops a more personal relationship from forming. This effect is present throughout Holden’s journey as he feels isolated in the same way from many of his â€Å"Phony† acquaintances.

Characteristics of Magical Realism in If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs :: Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs Essays

Characteristics of Magical Realism in If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs      Ã‚  Ã‚   "If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs" is a short story written by Colin McNaughton. "If Dinosaurs were Cats And Dogs" was published in 1981. It is classified under the fantastic sublime. However, based on the analysis of "If Dinosaurs were Cats And Dogs" one would believe that magical realism is a genre of the sublime.    While reading "If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs", one comes upon the illustrations in the book. Through out all of the illustrations, the people are on a smaller scale then the animals. Scale is a sign of a sublime work. It creates a mood of nature being more important than humans or anything else for that matter. Scale, when used in sublime works, sets a universal or macroscopic tone.    I would confidently maintain that nothing contributes so decisively to the grand style as a noble emotion in the right setting, when it forces its way to the surface in a gust of frenzy, and breathes a kind of divine inspiration into the speaker's words (Longinus 109). Longinus is explaining how a moment in a story line becomes clear to the reader out of a turbulent setting. It is considered by Longinus to be a perfect specimen of the sublime. In the short story "If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs", many examples of the emotion force their way to the surface in an uncontrollable frenzy. A good example from "If Dinosaurs Were Cats And Dogs' would be this excerpt: " This snake is over ten miles long, which makes it very hard to steer. When people shout, "Look out! Look Out! Its head's too far away to hear"(McNaughton 21). In the excerpt from the story, when it is explained that even though people are shouting for the snake to watch where it is going, the snake can't hear because the it's head is ten miles away. This is a brilliant examples of sublime literature.    Although "If Dinosaurs Were Cats and Dogs" is classified as fantastic sublime, the story has many examples of magical realism within its pages. The way in which the animals in the story are humungous is one of the many examples of magical realism. A parrot that is twenty-nine feet tall is extraordinary. Even more extraordinary is a snake that is ten miles long.

Cause and effect essay- 3 negative impacts of technology Essay

Technology is ever-changing in today’s day and age and has affected us individually, and as a society either negatively or positively depending on the perspective. Technology has negatively impacted me in three specific ways. The first way technology has impacted my life caused a decrease in the number of face-to-face interactions I have daily. With technology assisting or occupying the majority of our day, the conversations we participate in daily are more often limited to a text or phone call. The second way technology has affected my life has caused an increase in the amount of bullying found online among students. With social media being the new faà §ade for students to anonymously pick on one another, there’s been a noticeable increase in physical violence in schools, as well as a soaring statistic in pre-teen and teen suicides. The third and final way technology has negatively impacted my life caused less personal thinking in my daily routine. A phone, for example, has Internet connection, a calculator, a dictionary, a thesaurus and multiple other assistive apps to help simplify our daily tasks. see more:does social media create isolation In a week alone, the average teen will send 854 texts, spends 31 hours on a computer and watch 21 hours of television. The first negative impact technology has had on my life is the amount of time it consumes. With social media occupying the majority of our schedules, the amount of conversations we engage in daily are limited to a text or phone call. While these new forms can be assistive in long distance communication, it also changes the way we interact among one another. Communicating over text messaging can be misinterpreted; distracting and can even affect our mood. Studies suggest that there can be a correlation found between social interactions and the way we feel. When our schedules are busy and others are constantly surrounding us, our mood generally gets better. Social media is causing us a lack of face-to-face communication, causing us to be lazier, dependent and socially in tune at all times. I find that the lack of face-to-face communication is a problem because of the time social media takes up. For example, when my family gets together every Friday evening for a movie night, the lights and sounds of the devices surrounding constantly distract me. I find technology negatively impacts my life by taking up a large amount of my family, and personal time. The idea of â€Å"cyber bullying† didn’t arise until early 2001 when students started causing problems at school because of issues previously online. Social networking sites have created the second negative impact the internet has had on my life. Sites such as Tumblr, Ask.Fm and Formspring.Me offer an anonymous option when asking a question that is publicly posted to the timelines of everyone following the receiver. These comments can leave the victim feeling overwhelmed, vulnerable, powerless, exposed, humiliated and isolated. Victims usually feel threatened to be present in front of the bully or feel the need to lash out and attack the attacker. Studies from Stop A Bully Safe & Anonymous conducted may 2009 – July 2013 reported cyber bullying third most common in Ontario. (20%) With statistics this high, social media causes just as many negative effects on teens as it does positive. With cyber bullying awareness assemblies, posters and public announcements it is still a common problem in today’s youth. Suicides still account for 20% of deaths from all causes in this age group. In 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 233 Canadians aged 10 to 19 — 156 males and 77 females — died by their own hands because of problems among peers. Cyber bullying has caused a negative impact on my life as well as the lives of many others. It’s very easy for anyone to anonymously send a message and not feel guilty, but it isn’t very funny when you’re made the target. All day, every day my cell phone is in my pocket, ready to help me whenever I need it. The last negative impact technology has had on my life is the lack of thinking I do daily. My phone helps by providing a calculator, notes, dictionaries, thesauruses and many other assistive apps that help me on the go. Instead of doing difficult math problems or worrying about the essay I have to write, my phone has the ability to calculate any problem or search the web for a few ideas at anytime. While these may seem like handy functions to have around, they also prevent my chances of learning by answering a math problem or creating an essay topic myself. I find these functions cause our society to be neglectful and reliant. For example, with the help of modern technology, I haven’t been to the library to use an encyclopedia in years. This is because of the efficiency and accuracy that the internet has to offer. While the internet can quickly assist you on any topic you need, it can also cause you to be dependent and brainless by doing all of your work for you. I believe modern technology is causing our society to change. What once was a purposeful and determined community is now an uneducated and inert population. Technology has negatively impacted me in three ways: a decrease in the number of face-to-face interactions I have daily, an increase in the amount of bullying found online among students and a noticeable decrease in the amount of personal thinking in my daily routine.

Most people do not know that there are a lot of medical...

Most people do not know that there are a lot of medical discoveries in the rain forest. Tropical rain forest help to balance the ecosystem and our human existence. For centuries, rain forest have supported medicines due to its rich medical plant life. This also saves many people’s lives. Most people wonder what Tropical rain forest are. Tropical rain forest are mostly to be found as warm, wet climates. They contain many species. Today rain forest cover very little as in six percent of Earth’s Surface. Rain forest hold the most productive and complex ecosystem on the whole Earth. All of the plants contribute to the Earth’s oxygen. All of the plants and trees can cure many deadly diseases. There is more rain forest than people†¦show more content†¦Periwinkle is the most active plant and covers most of the forest floor, also is a medicine to fight tumors and able to treat some Leukemia. Today over one hundred pharmacies use the braches and plants for medicine. Twenty-five percent of cancer fighting medicines are found in rain forest. There are also many trees used for medicine too. For example one of the trees such as the Annatto tree has an oil extract of the tree. The Annatto tree contains carotenoids bixin, used for protection against UV rays. It also helps to lower blood pressure and is a powerful bug repellent. The Cocoa tree is one of the few that is very high in medicinal value, that makes it one of the most important rain forest tree. This one and only tree produces over one hundred fifty chemicals that can come from its leaves, seeds, fruit, and bark. It is made to heal or to treat anxiety, laziest, fever, coughs, kidney stones, and large cuts and bruises. The Trumpet tree is a popular tree used extensively in traditional medicine in Central and South America. Every part of the tree; leaves, fruits, flowers, bark, and roots are used to treat breathing illnesses and arthritis. The Cinchona tree is a large poisonous vine that grow along the tree and is full of alkaloids. It is used for treating bruises, fever, swelling in youShow MoreRelatedThe Conservation Of Chimpanzees Is The Idea Of Protecting Endangered Species From Going Extinct Essay1797 Words   |  8 PagesThe conservation of Chimpanzees is the idea of protecting this endangered species from going extinct. The ides of protecting the chimps are motivated by their human like characteristics, and ability to be seen as â€Å"little people†. People want to save the reflection of themselves because they feel that a piece of our human history will be lost without them. There isn’t a big difference between humans and chimps as we once thought. Humans, chimps and bonobos descended from a single ancestor speciesRead MoreEthnic Tourism Essence of India7906 Words   |  32 PagesAbstract Ethnic Tourism: Essence of India Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. The World tourism Organization defines tourists as people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. India, like many other countries has hadRead MoreSexually Transmitted Diseases35655 Words   |  143 Pages166-176 Birth Control and contraceptives 177-185 Effects on population growth 186-187 Drug and drug abuse 188-191 Man’s impact on the environment 192-199 Reproduction in man 200-201 References 202 Introduction Many people live their lives without having a clue about certain things pertaining to science and its impact on living. They remain dark when it comes on to having an understanding of how the scientific things of this world actually work. This portfolio was doneRead MoreHemp Cultivation in China42289 Words   |  170 PagesShandong Province, Peoples Republic of China Robert C. Clarke Naturetex International B.V. Van Diemenstraat 192 1013 CP Amsterdam The Netherlands Clarke, R.C. 1995. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivation in the Tai an District of Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China. Journal of the International Hemp Association 2(2): 57, 60-65. This paper summarizes the history of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation and traditional use in the Tai an District of Shandong Province in the People s Republic ofRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages........................................................................................... 144 Seeking a Second Opinion ............................................................................................................ 147 Trust Me, I Know It on Good Authority ..................................................................................... 149 Suspending Belief......................................................................................................................