The Omnivore Versus the Forest Essay Example for Free

The Omnivore Versus the Forest Essay The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan describes the everyday struggle between the omnivore and its food choices. The omnivore’s dilemma comes about every time the omnivore becomes hungry. There is the question of â€Å"What do I want to eat? † for each meal. Pollan believes that the omnivore has three main food chains: the industrial (corn), the pastoral (grass), and the personal (forest). I chose Part III Personal of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The personal food chain is where the hunter-gatherer finds their food within the forest. I will be reviewing chapters 15 through 17, The Forager, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Ethics of Eating Animals. The Omnivore’s Dilemma offers an interesting insight of the omnivore overall however, does it meet my common expectations of readability, storyline development, and maintaining interest. The way a book reads in terms of words and language used is readability. When an author uses uncommon or unknown words throughout, it affects the way the book reads. When I am constantly looking up words that are unfamiliar or I cannot determine from the context, I lose interest. The constant stopping distracts from how it reads. There were a few words I did not know such as chanterelle and surfeit. Chanterelle turns out to be a species of mushroom, which I was able to determine from the context of the paragraph. I had to stop to look up surfeit, which means an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something. Overall chapters 15 through 17 have great readability. Storyline development is another important aspect of a book. The story must gradually build onto itself without becoming stagnant. A storyline that builds to climax fast and leaves the rest of the story with nothing or a storyline that takes forever to develop will ensure that I will stop reading. Chapters 15 through 17 add to the storyline of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Chapter 15 starts with the gatherer or forager. Pollan begins with his gathering experience of helping his mother collect clams, berries, and beach plums during childhood. He then adds to the storyline with his adulthood experience gathering in the forest for mushrooms to getting his hunting license. Chapter 16 builds into how the omnivore’s dilemma applies to the hunter-gatherer. Pollan explains how the omnivore overcomes the defenses of plants and animals and thus creates the dilemma. Chapter 17 then adds in the how the omnivore feels about eating animals, how the vegetarian chooses how to eat, how animals suffer (both being hunted and farm animals), the happiness of farm animals, the extreme vegetarian – the vegan, and the clean kill. The last aspect of a book is maintaining interest. I will only read a book if my interest is peaked and maintained throughout. Maintaining my interest is the culmination of the other two aspects: readability and storyline. The first three chapters of Part III have some interesting parts however, my interest went in waves. Chapter 15 was the most interesting of the three chapters. Pollan held my interest by providing some background and telling his story of the first attempts at foraging. Chapters 16 and 17 did not hold my interest at all. I had to force myself to keep reading. The Omnivore’s Dilemma met two of the three common expectations I have for reading books. Unfortunately, the book was not able to hold my attention as expected. A book can read well and have a good developed storyline but if it fails to keep me interested, I will never finish the book. The interesting insight The Omnivore’s Dilemma provides is not enough for me to keep reading.

Satire :: Literature Analysis, Art, Informative

Satire is a literary work in which the follies of its subject are attacked through irony, derision, or wit, usually to fulfill a corrective purpose. Those who satirize are called satirists. Satire is an art, and while making a point, it should do it in such a way that the reader doesn’t feel assaulted, or moralized. No one likes a moralizer. Satire’s more eye opening than judgmental, and is conveyed through distortion, exaggeration (as well as understatement), paronomasia, ambiguity and innuendo, comparison and zeugma, similes and metaphors, oxymorons, and parables and allegories. Satire has existed since the beginning of human stupidity, or fault. Among the earliest records discovered from the B.C., there have been forms of social commentary. Greek playwrights would incorporate parodies into their plays, bards from the middle ages would sing of society’s defects, by the 17th century, satirical books were published and sold. Nowadays, satires exists in various forms, such as The Simpsons, Spike Lee films, and The Onion. There are three main genres of satire: Horatian, Juvenal, and Menippean. Horation satire is usually good natured, Juveanlian satire is a bit more hard core, and Menippean humor is chaotic and disorganized, with no form of prose. There’s an idea that’s been progressively formulated, and that’s that satire needs to be humorous. This isn’t true, however, that is how it’s displayed today. The humor of satire isn’t upfront—it’s subtle and deadpan. Insane things will be said and done and the joker will be utterly earnest throughout it. Buster Keaton was a straight comic, barely smiling during his films, Ali G has the most outrageous interviews with celebrities and politicians and, somehow, doesn’t crack up.

Mark Antony: Loyal Friend or Cunning Politician Essay

Mark Antony was a cunning, strong-willed, and loyal Roman. He was a devoted friend to Caesar. He looked at life as a game in which he had a significant part to play, and played that part with excellent refinement and skill. Antony was a devoted follower of Julius Caesar. Because he was a good friend, he was willing to be second hand to Caesar, the new king. Whilst Caesar would become the king, the most valuable but least powerful piece in chess, he would become the rook, a semi-valuable, very important piece. He wanted the crown to be given to Caesar so that the political vacuum would be filled and no conflicts would occur. Antony was unsettled by Caesar’s death but mainly sought to use this to his advantage and gain power. He showed how clever and cunning he could be when he convinced the crowd at Caesar’s funeral ceremony to side with him and not with the murderers. The people became excited and rowdy when he teased them about the will, waving it in the air and pretending as if he was not going to read it. Antony took advantage of the public idiocy when he first pretended to respect the conspirators calling them honorable men, and then slowly proving that they were not. He spoke out against them because he wanted power for himself, and unlike Brutus, he was politically ambitious and so believed that if he could take control while the state was in turmoil, he will remain in power. He was alone in making this oration, showing he had the confidence and courage needed to take charge. Rome began to collapse once Caesar was killed, so Antony joined the new government in order to lead the Roman people into a new age of prosperity. He did this partly due to a feeling of responsibility as Caesar’s friend, and also from his own ambitions. Antony was viewed as a threat by all of the conspirators but Brutus. They wanted to kill Antony as well as Caesar because they feared that he would become as powerful as Caesar and possibly a dictator. Brutus persuaded the others not to add to the assassination by saying, â€Å"And for Mark Antony, think not of him: for he can do no more than Caesar’s arm when Caesar’s head is off†(2.1). Brutus underestimated Antony and perceived him as a person who didn’t always take life seriously, couldn’t have a serious nature and  therefore, not a thinker. Brutus continued to argue with Cassius who did not believe him. â€Å"Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him. If he loves Caesar, all that he can do is to himself — take thought and die for Caesar. And that were much he should, for he is given to sports, to wildness, and much company† (2.1). Brutus judged him as being frivolous, and simply liking sport and partying, with a reputation for womanizing. This caused Brutus to see Antony as a pushover and a force that could be molded to their uses. Unfortunately for Brutus and the conspirators he turned out to be quite the orator and the people immediately loved him. Antony’s character was slow to emerge, and it wasn’t until he was forced to show his true potential, that he could he really be judged. He was a character with many hidden traits until he was forced to show his genuine character while trying to take the throne after Caesar’s death. Once he became a leader of Rome, his true character was uncovered.

My Place by Sally Morgan, The Road Not Taken by Robert...

The Journey as Depicted in My Place by Sally Morgan, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, The Transall Saga and Pay it Forward The inner journey is a concept that has always been debated, and so has its meaning. The word ‘inner’ has the alternative meaning of personal. Moreover, the word journey has an alternative meaning of movement. So, the concept of the inner journey, customarily, has the meaning of a personal movement. Inner journeys have often been described as the metaphor behind a physical journey. The statement ‘Journey is the reward’ and the idea of a personal movement are depicted in the texts, My Place by Sally Morgan, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, The Transall Saga and Pay it Forward. ‘My Place’ is the autobiographical†¦show more content†¦It must be noted that inner journeys are plagued with choices, and this is a truth and reality that no one can escape. As Robert Frost says in ‘The Road Not Taken’, ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.’ In Sally’s quest for information, she met a lady called ‘Elsie’ who gave her a great depth and insight into her Grandmother and the past. In Sally’s mind, her journey was definitely rewarded and this made her feel ‘full inside’. Sally’s mother, Gladys, had also found an new sense of fulfillment which completed her as a whole, because she was previously only ‘half a person’. For Sally, it was her determination and ‘stubborn’ nature which meant that she was rewarded, because in her heart she realized that unless the family went on such an epic journey ‘we never would have known our place’. Sally said ‘What had begun as a tentative search for knowledge had grown into a spiritual and emotional pilgrimage’. This journey of self discovery, enlightenment and acceptance, were all key discerning factors in how, for Sally, the journey was a rewarding experience. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, is another text which represents how the journey, alone, can be a rewarding experience. The Road Not Taken, is the poem about a man who is exploring the choices that he once had, as he made his journey through lfe. It is theShow MoreRelatedJourney Essay1466 Words   |  6 PagesThe Journey is the reward: Discuss the truth of this statement using the core text, with one piece of text from the BOS booklet together with two pieces of related material. All issues are to speak in relation to Sally Morgans inner journey. The inner journey is a concept that has always been debated, and so has its meaning. The word ‘inner has the alternative meaning of personal. Moreover, the word journey has an alternative meaning of movement. So, the concept of the inner journey, customarily