Stephen Toulmin

Braxton O’Dell Mrs.Ward Research Project 2 November 2014 Stephen Hawking and his Struggles with ALS What exactly is ALS? It has become one of the most popular topics in the media over the last year. All what seems to come to mind when you think about ALS is people dumping buckets of ice and water over their heads but it’s something much more than that. ALS is an illness referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The medical definition of ALS is, “a progressive…

Gothic literature usually features many eerie elements, such as a dark setting and eventually the death of a character, usually murder. These elements can be seen in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, as well as Ring Lardner’s “Haircut.” Another thing the stories use are different styles of narration, making each of them more morbid. However, the point of view in these stories are also different. And Then There Were None is told in a third person omniscient, showing the characters…

and the author of many bestselling volumes of American popular history. His many books, including the New York Times bestsellers Undaunted Courage and D-Day, as well as multi-volume biographies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Historian Stephen Ambrose died of lung cancer on October 13, 2002, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, at the age of 66. The author of more than 35 books, he was an historian who became a best-selling author. Much of his career he was a professor at the University of…

Nature is indifferent as well as uncaring. In the short story “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane, we embark on the journey of four men, whose ship has crashed and are now adrift. They fight for survival throughout the whole story, trying to withstand nature. At the beginning of the story, they believe that nature will actually care for them, or at least an unnatural force will come and save them. They even begin to question the existence of God. In the end, they understand that nature does not…

To infinity, and beyond!: Stephen Hawking Stephen Hawking is an individual who provided some insight on the questions of the universe. At the time of Hawking’s adolescence, space and anything beyond our solar system baffled scientists, they had no idea or if they thought they had an idea, it was more sci-fi than actual science. Without Hawking’s findings, we most likely wouldn’t have the space technology we do today. Stephen Hawking impacted the way people see theoretical physics, black holes,…

When Fear Takes Over In Nightfall, The Crystal Cave, and Left for Dead there is a reoccurring topic that each book has in common. The topic that keeps finding its place in the novels is fear. Fear can make you do all sorts of actions that you normally would not do. Sometimes fear can make you go completely insane. In these books the topic of fear is shown throughout by starvation, thirst, darkness, and death which leads these characters to make out of the ordinary decisions. In the novel…

Unusual or supernatural events are common elements in Southern Gothic literature. From the beginning of the story, the author utilizes a surreal undertone in a sequence of obscure events to highlight how a personal interest when pursued without regard for others can lead to disaster. The first of these events begins with a seemingly innocent decision by the grandmother to bring her cat along on the family vacation. “She didn’t intend for the cat to be left alone in the house for three days…

People tend to fear what they do not understand; this human trait has given rise to hysteria, myths, legends, superstitions, and a multitude of mystical creatures. One of the most common monsters that piques the interest of numerous people are vampires. Vampires are seen as fictitious due to all the attention they have received by the media and their transition from bloodthirsty creatures of the night to emotionally distant, teenage dreams. However, there almost always is a grain of truth behind…

Before leaving for school, I sit down and turn on my favorite show, Spongebob Squarepants. In this episode, Spongebob is being bullied, an incident that many students like me and my friends can relate to, at Boating School by a larger fish named Flatts. Annoyed and frustrated, Spongebob lets the bully have his way, and since he is a sponge, the bully’s physical abuse doesn’t affect him, the bully becoming tired and run-down. During the whole episode, Spongebob stays strong which teaches the…

It’s Jake and Lydia’s first time to go outside in the wilderness and see all of the beautiful nature out there. They don’t know what they're going to expect out there and there can be very dangerous plants or animals there. They have never ever seen any kind of animal in there whole life except the talking ape. Their parents let them go explore outside even though that might be the last time there going to see them. Jake and Lydia are very excited to go out and see different things. When they go…