Hoarding

Venezuela’s change in presidency and governmental representatives have caused major negative effects to not only the people but the environment around them. Hugo Chavez’s death was the worst thing that could have happened to them. They have since been under another president who has seen a once prominent nation with many resources dwindle to poverty and serious political struggles. Declining oil prices, 500% inflation plague, and failed economic policies have cost this ,once wealthy nation, a…

Remaining within Old Lines: An Examination of Daphne Berdahl’s Where the World Ended In Where the World Ended, Daphne Berdahl explores via ethnographic study the creation and evolution of identities in the town of Kella. Located within the 500-meter Schutzstreifen along the Grenze (the inter-German border during the Cold War), residents of Kella experienced strict surveillance from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and lived with additional regulations. Berdahl presents Kella as floating…

The Tsarist regime in Russia, under Tsar Nicholas II, survived the 1905 Revolution but not that of February 1917. Several important factors such as the economy, the government and the military, contributed the eventual failure of the autocratic monarchy in Russia. These factors influenced the people of Russia differently in 1905 and 1917. Some factors were not prevalent in the earlier rebellion but increased and changed over the period of eleven years. The way the Tsar dealt with each of these…

The epic poem Beowulf has many different adaptations, some truer to the original than others. Even the poem is an adaptation of its original oral tale. These revisions may provide some clarity in the original tale. For example, the original tale was in Old English. Not everyone can understand Old English, so the story was altered for the understanding of a broader audience. Different versions of Beowulf may provide information the story was lacking. Some of the changes made are merely for…

The diagnostic criteria for OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) includes recurring and unwanted thoughts & urges which are hard to suppress and may cause discomfort or anxiety; this is known as obsession. Subsequently, there are compulsions, repetitive behaviors and actions performed by a person in a response to an obsession or an unrealistic belief it will prevent a horrific event or sooth anxiety. In order to meet the criteria for OCD these obsessions, compulsions, or a combination of both…

Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a world where books have been banned and are burned by firemen if they are found. The story begins by describing the pleasure the protagonist, fireman Guy Montag, experiences when he burns books. He spews the volumes with kerosene and they are engulfed in flames of black, red, and yellow as “the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house” (Bradbury 3). The description in the opening connects to the story’s overall theme…

The pre-industrial era was one of new lands, new wealth, and new ideas. It was a time where growth seemed not only sustainable, but rather necessary and admirable. That being the case, many an author sought to understand this new growth, to make it applicable to the their fellow citizenry, to guide the thoughts of those around them in the way they saw best fit for the benefit of society. Through these various thought experiments, our authors came to manifest seemingly radical notions of wealth…

Dr. Suess once said, “Why fit in when you are born to stand out.” Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian novel focused around the habits that arise as technology outsmarts the population. The focus of the novel is a man named Guy Montag who lives in a society that has been overrun by the government. Technology has been imposed on the population to regulate their everyday lives. Everyone appears happy except for Guy Montag, who is beginning to question his own actions.…

Grendel’s Philosophical Lifestyle In the book Grendel the main character, Grendel is a monster that was once rejected by humans making him into an angry and bitter person. Grendel only cares about himself and wants to be the best at what he does which is fighting. Grendel’s whole life he experiences multiple different types of philosophies in which he lives by. Three main philosophies stick out in Grendel's life which he lives by the most, they are Machiavellianism, Solipsism, and Nihilism…

Will Roger’s once said, “Too many people spend money they have not earned, to buy things they do not want, to impress people they don’t like.” People should not live their lives trying to please others by having the biggest house, the most expensive car, or the fanciest yacht. Nor should we feel the need to update everything we own once a year. Minimalism is a lifestyle that says we should not focus on materialistic items, but rather the people around us. People need to focus on relationships…