Piano and Drums Essay Example

Piano and Drums Paper How is the relationship of the poet to the past explored in Digging and either Our History or Piano and Drums? The relationship of the poet to the past is explored in Digging and Piano and Drums through themes of the poets heritage and the change that has occurred between the past and the present. However, Piano and Drums and Digging differ in the way they describe their connection with the past. For example, in Piano and Drums, Okara draws a parallel between how his life in the African culture was disturbed by Western invasion and how drums reminds him of his African past whereas the piano only makes him feel pain. On the other hand, in Digging, Seamus Heaney uses fewer metaphors and instead uses specific diction, such as single syllable words, to convey his attachment to the past. Heaney portrays his fondness for his father and grandfather in Digging through using affectionate terms and describing how hard they work as well as the way he describes digging potatoes. For example, Heaney calls his father old man in stanza five, which conveys to the reader a sense of affection as well as respect; a theme that is carried through the whole poem. An example of this is when his grandfather was drinking the milk and Heaney said he then fell to right away. This suggests his grandfather was a hard working committed man causing the reader to respect Heaneys grandfather. It is also suggested that Heaney would boast that his grand father would cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toners bog in stanza six. This again suggests admiration and affection from Heaney to his grandfather. Heaney also portrays a strong attachment to digging for potatoes and turf. He did this by using words such as nestled and loving when describing digging and the potatoes. We will write a custom essay sample on Piano and Drums specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Piano and Drums specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Piano and Drums specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Both of these words suggest that the father is comfortable with digging and he is at home when his foot is on the lug. Also, through out the poem, Heaney uses one syllable words such as lug, gun and sods. This recreates the rhythm of digging which is monosyllabic in its self. It could also be in reference to the fact that digging is a very simple action so simple words can be used to describe it. Throughout Piano and Drums the relationship of the poet to the past is explored through how he feels about African and western music. For example, in stanza two, Okara describes how he feels when he hears the drums. He says, topples the years and at one Im in my mothers lap a suckling. This suggests that hearing African drums takes him back to his childhood. This is similar to Digging in that when Heaney hears the rasping of the spade sinking in to the ground, he remembers his childhood when his grandfather used to dig turf. However, unlike Digging, in the first stanza Okara thinks of the beginning, meaning the beginning of Africa. This suggests to the reader that Okara has a real sense of patriotism and belonging to Africa. Okara also explores the invasion of the Colonies as apart of his past. He uses the analogy that their interruption is like the piano (a western instrument) interrupting the drums. This gives a very modern impression on the reader of something that happened many years ago. Also, while Okara is describing the piano music he uses musical words; however, he uses them in such a way that it does not make sense. This suggests that he can make sense of them in his culture because drumbeats, to him, are simple yet more symbolic. In that same stanza Okara uses the word complex twice suggesting that the past is simpler, like a drumbeat. However, also in that stanza are very forceful words such as coaxing and daggerpoint. This suggests that the poet feels threatened by the invasion. In conclusion, Digging is more like a memory than Piano and Drums. For example the rhyme is very structured at the beginning of digging but becomes more relaxed as the memory takes over and the sounds of the words become more important. Therefore, digging is more like memory; you remember things in as unpredictable way so the structure is unpredictable. Also, Okara uses music to explore his past where as Heaney writes more literally.

Captain Nemos Thirst for Revenge Essays

Captain Nemos Thirst for Revenge Essays Captain Nemos Thirst for Revenge Essay Captain Nemos Thirst for Revenge Essay Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, written by Jules Verne, is one the most interesting books that I have read. It is full of adventures and great ideas. Author Jules Verne created the high powerful submarine vessel for Captain Nemo. Instead of using the submarine for the better good, Captain Nemo used it to attack what he considered to be threats to him. The story is about one mans hatred for everything that he considers evil in this world. Captain Nemo goes out of his way to build a war machine of which he has control and uses it to combat anything that gets in his way. Captain Nemo, who is full of hatred, goes to one extreme and is pessimistic toward the oppressors. The story begins in 1866, however, the setting really starts during the summer of 1867 on the vessel Nautilus. The submarine travels throughout the worlds ocean including the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land, also referred to as the trio, and Captain Nemo are the main characters in the book. Professor Pierre Aronnax is a scientist of marine biology who was invited onto the Abraham Lincoln warship to help search for and capture the mysterious sea creature. Professor Aronnax brought along his assistant Conseil whose job is to classify marine animals. Ned Land is the professional harpooner from Canada. Later on the trio meets Captain Nemo who is a rich and powerful madman that built a powerful vessel that cruises the deep ocean. One of the major conflicts of the story is Captain Nemos battles with the forces of nature that gets in his way. Captain Nemo faced giant squids, hungry cannibals, huge blocks of ice, violent whales, and scary whirlpools. Captain Nemo will stop and kill anything that gets in his way. After the trio was faced with the possibility of drowning, they meet Captain Nemo and later realize that he is no ordinary sea captain. They soon find out he is a craz

Pronoun Case on ACT English Tips and Practice Questions

Pronoun Case on ACT English Tips and Practice Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Pronoun case is a grammar rule that tends to be broken by most English speakers. Perhaps of more concern to you, questions that test your knowledge of pronoun case often appear on the ACT. Master this rule and you’ll be one step closer to mastering the ACT English section. There are multiple pronoun rules that are tested in ACT English. This one is relatively straightforward and tends to be tested less often than ambiguous antecedents or pronoun antecedent agreement. However, if you are aiming for that 30+ score, you should be ready if you encounter a pronoun case question. In this post, I’ll do the following: Explain the difference between subjects and objects. Give you a clear understanding of pronoun case. Offer strategies that can help you correctly answer pronoun case questions. Provide you with practice questions so you can test what you’ve learned. Quick Review: What's a Pronoun? A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. The noun to which the pronoun refers is called the antecedent. Some examples of pronouns include I, he, she, it, me, him, her, their, we, andus. What Is Pronoun Case? Case refers to whether a pronoun is being used as a subject or an object. What Is a Subject? Simply, a subject is the noun that corresponds with a verb in a sentence. In a sentence in which there is an action, the subject is the noun that's doing the action. Here is an example: Dave likes techno music. Dave is the subject because he's doing the liking. In a sentence in which there's a description, typically using a form of the verb "to be," the subject is the noun that is being described. Check out this sentence: Dave is brilliant. Dave is the subject because he is the person who is brilliant. What Is an Object? An object is a noun that receives an action. An object can be a direct object, an object of a preposition, or an indirect object. This is an example sentence. The direct object of the verb is in bold: I opened the door. The direct object is "the door" because that is what I opened. Here is a sentence with an object of a preposition: Chuck spoke to his girlfriend. Chuck's girlfriend is the object because she is the person to whom he spoke. Also, an object of a preposition always follows a preposition. In this case, "girlfriend" follows the preposition "to." An indirect object comes before the direct object and indicates to whom or for whom the action is done and who is receiving the direct object. Here's an example sentence with the indirect object bolded: The government gave Matt a tax refund. Matt is the indirect object because the government gave a refund to him. He received the direct object.If you're confused by the concept of an indirect object, for pronoun case questions, just remember that the object receives the action, either directly or indirectly. Subject Pronouns Vs. Object Pronouns If a noun is being used as a subject, the noun can be replaced by a subject pronoun. If a noun is being used as an object, the noun can be replaced by an object pronoun. Here's a list of subject pronouns: SUBJECT PRONOUNS Here's a list of the object pronouns that correspond with the subject pronouns from above: OBJECT PRONOUNS If you understand everything up to this point, you're ready to take on pronoun case questions on the ACT. Here we go! Pronoun Case in ACT English The ACT tests whether you should use a subject or an object pronoun. You will be tested on the following subject/object pairs. I Vs. Me She, He Vs. Her, Him We Vs. Us They Vs. Them Let's go through the process of how to decide whether to use a subject or an object pronoun in a given sentence. ACT English Strategy Here are some example sentences demonstrating how subject pronouns can replace subjects and object pronouns can replace objects. Take a look at the following sentence: Nancy offered valuable guidance. Let's replace "Nancy" with a pronoun. First, we have to determine if Nancy is a subject or an object. What do you think? Nancy isthe subject because she did the offering. She did the action. Therefore, we must replace "Nancy" with a subject pronoun and the resulting sentence reads: She offered valuable guidance. You can't replace Nancy with an object pronoun. You can't write, "Her offered valuable guidance." That would be an example of a pronoun case error. Now we'll go through the same process with another example sentence: Dave Chappelle gave his autograph to Irene. To replace "Irene" with a pronoun, we have to determine if Irene is a subject or an object in the sentence. Well, in our example sentence, "Irene" is an object. Why? She is receiving what was given by the subject, and she is the object of the preposition "to." After replacing "Irene" with a pronoun, the sentence should look like this: Dave Chappelle gave his autograph to her. If we had made a pronoun case error when replacing "Irene" with a pronoun, the sentence would have read, "Dave Chappelle gave his autograph to she." This rule seems relatively simple, right? Subjects do actions. Objects receive actions. Well, we know the ACT likes to complicate the most basic sentences and truly test your understanding of a grammar rule. Pronoun case questions become more difficult in sentences with compound subjects and compound objects. The Same Rules Apply for Compound Subjects and Compound Objects Compound just means that two nouns are connected with the word "and." In a sentence with a compound subject, there are two nouns that serve as the subject. In a sentence with compound objects, there are two objects of the same verb. Here's another example sentence for you (I love examples!): Taylor Swift and Justinmet at Target. "Taylor Swift" and "Justin" are the subject. They are the people who did the meeting. They did the action. Now, let's replace "Justin" with a pronoun. We know that "Justin" is a subject so we have to replace "Justin" with a subject pronoun. Because I am Justin, this would be my sentence: Taylor Swift and I met at Target. If you were writing this sentence about me, this would be your sentence: Taylor Swift and he met at Target. That sentence probably sounds awkward to you, but it's grammatically correct. Most people would use the object pronoun and write, "Taylor Swift and him met at Target." That would be a pronoun case error. Remember, always follow the grammar rules and avoid relying on what "sounds right." Let's follow the same process with another example sentence: Hulk Hogan offered a red bandana to Marc and Justin. Again, we'll replace "Justin" with a pronoun. In the above example, are "Marc" and "Justin" subjects or objects? They're objects. They received the action. They were offered the bandana. Also, they follow the preposition "to" and are the object of the preposition. Therefore, we have to replace "Justin" with an object pronoun. Because I'm Justin, this would be my sentence: Hulk Hogan offered a red bandana to Marc and me. Many people think "Marc and I" would be the correct phrase for that sentence. However, that would be a pronoun case error. Remember, "I" can only be used as a subject and "me" can only be used as an object. If you were writing the previous example sentence about me, you would write: Hulk Hogan offered a red bandana to Marc and him. Because you are replacing an object with a pronoun, you have to use an object pronoun. The ACT tends to use compound subjects or objects in questions that test pronoun case because the correct answer often sounds wrong to us. So is there a strategy that enables us to more easily identify pronoun case errors in sentences with compound subjects or objects? Absolutely!! He didn't really offer me his red bandana. ACT EnglishStrategy If you see a compound subject/object, cross out the other noun and "and." For compound objects, the sentence should still be grammatically correct. Let's try this strategy with the previous example: Hulk Hogan offered a red bandana to Marc and me. This sentence probably sounds less awkward to you. Most likely, you would be able to identify a pronoun case error if you saw a sentence that read, "Hulk Hogan offered a red bandana to I." If you do the same thing with a compound subject, the sentence will be grammatically correct if you also change the verb from plural to singular, due to subject-verb agreement. Keep in mind that the singular and plural forms of a verb can be the same. Now we'll use the cross-out method with a compound subject to help determine if there's a pronoun case error. Here's our example sentence: Him and Joe were talking to the cashier. After crossing out the noun and "and," we're left with "Him were talking to the cashier." Once we change the verb to singular, this is our sentence: Him was talking to the cashier. At this point, you can probably figure out if there's an error, but let's follow the rules. In the sentence, is "Him" a subject or an object? It's a subject because he was doing the action. Therefore, we must use a subject pronoun. After plugging a subject pronoun into the original sentence, this would be the correct version of the example: He and Joe were talking to the cashier. Now we'll apply what we've learned to a question from an actual ACT. Real ACT English Example So how do we determine if there is a pronoun case error? First, let's employ our strategy and cross out "and her cousin." We're left with "her had staged." Does that look right to you? Now, let's determine if "her" is a subject or object. Well, "her" should be a subject because she's doing the action. She had done the staging. Then, after we plug the rest of the compound subject back into the phrase with a subject pronoun, we have "she and her cousin had staged." The correct answer is C. Who Vs. Whom Occasionally, the ACT will also test you on whether to use "who" or "whom" in a sentence. These words are known as relative pronouns. Most people have no idea when and how to properly use "who" and "whom." Luckily, the rule is pretty simple. The word "who" is a subject pronoun and "whom" is an object pronoun. Here's a strategy to make life easier when answering questions involving "who" or "whom." ACT EnglishStrategy For pronoun case purposes, "who" and "whom" function like "she" and "her" (or "he" and "him"). The word "who" is a subject pronoun and "whom" is an object pronoun. To determine if there's a pronoun case error, replace "who" with "she" and "whom" with "her". If the antecedent is plural, replace "who" with "they" and "whom" with "them". If there's not a pronoun case error in the original sentence, the resulting phrase should be grammatically correct. Take a look at this sentence: Justin, who is too self-absorbed, always references himself in his example sentences. The sentence is saying that Justin is too self-absorbed and "who" modifies Justin. Justin is being described as self-absorbed. If we replace "who" with "he," the phrase would read, "He is too self-absorbed." The word "he" is being properly used as a subject. Therefore, there is not a pronoun case error and "who" is being used correctly. Here's another example: My mother, whom I admire, graduated from nursing school. In the above sentence, the clause with "whom" is stating that "I adore my mother." Because "whom" is modifying "my mother," let's replace "my mother" with "her." The resulting sentence should be grammatically correct if "whom" is being used correctly. After replacing "my mother" with the pronoun, we have, "I admire her." That's correct because the word "her" is an object pronoun and "her" is receiving the action in the sentence. Here's one final example using "whom" as an object of the preposition: To whom much is given, much is expected. Here, the sentence is saying that much is given to whom.If you replace "whom" with "her," â€Å"much is given to her† is grammatically correct. If the relative pronoun follows â€Å"to† or â€Å"for," you should always use â€Å"whom." Truth Now we can take what we've learned and apply those lessons to actual examples from the ACT. Real ACT English Example This is a real example from an ACT English section. Use our strategy and your knowledge of pronoun case to answer the following question: So here we have the phrase â€Å"friends whom have died." The â€Å"whom† refers to â€Å"friends," which is plural, and â€Å"whom† is an object pronoun. Therefore, let’s replace â€Å"friends whom† with â€Å"them† to determine if the sentence is grammatically correct. â€Å"Them had died† is incorrect; the pronoun should be in the subject form. â€Å"They had died† is correct. They did the dying. Therefore, we need to use the subject form of the relative pronoun. The answer is B, â€Å"friends who had died." Let's take a look at another example: In this sentence, â€Å"whom† refers to â€Å"Banneker’s grandmother† and the verb is â€Å"bought." This sentence is made a little more tricky because the prepositional phrase starting with â€Å"after† separates â€Å"whom† from â€Å"bought." However, this sentence is saying that she (Banneker’s grandmother) bought some land. However, â€Å"whom† is in the object case which is equivalent to â€Å"her." â€Å"Her bought some land† is obviously incorrect. The relative pronoun should be changed to the subject case. The answer is B. General ACT English Strategies For Pronoun Case #1: If a Pronoun is Underlined, Check for an Error in Pronoun Case If you see that a pronoun is underlined, check to see if there is a pronoun case error. #2: Determine if the Pronoun Is Being Used as a Subject or Object If the pronoun is doing the action or being described, it's a subject. If the pronoun is receiving the action, it's an object. Use subject pronouns for subjects and object pronouns for objects. Also, use the replacement strategy, if necessary, to help determine if a noun is a subject or object. #3: The Same Rules Apply for Compound Subjects or Objects If you see a compound subject or object, the sentence should be grammatically correct if you get rid of one of the nouns and "and." Change "Peter and I went to a baseball game" to "I went to a baseball game." The sentence is still correct, so if you see a compound subject or object on the ACT, use the cross out strategy to help determine if there is a pronoun case error. For compound subjects, also make sure that you change the verb from plural to singular. #4: If a Pronoun Follows a Preposition, It is an Object Pronoun Pronouns that follow prepositions, specifically "to," "for," or "between," should be in the object case. #5: Use the Replacement Strategy for Who Vs. Whom If you're trying to determine whether "who" or "whom" should be used, replace "who" with "he" or "she" for singular antecedents and "who" with "they" for plural antecedents. The word "whom" should be replaced with "him" or "her" for singular antecedents and "them" for plural antecedents. Finish strong! Additional ACT English Practice Question Hopefully, by this point you thoroughly understand pronoun case and how to correctly answer any pronoun case question that may appear on the ACT. I've created some realistic practice problems to test you on what you've learned. Remember to use the general strategies I referenced above. 1. After I woke up yesterday, my parents decided to take my brother and me to breakfast. A. NO CHANGE B. I C. we D. their 2. Despite her friends’ objections, her and George decided to go to Las Vegas to elope. A. NO CHANGE B. her C. she D. or her 3. Christopher Hitchens, whom was a prolific writer, ruffled a few feathers during his public debates and television appearances. A. NO CHANGE B. which C. that D. who 4. His boss told him that Jane and him would be given the day off tomorrow. A. NO CHANGE B. he C. his D. their Answers: 1. A, 2. C, 3. D, 4. B What's Next? Since you're all at various points in your ACT prep, read this article to find out when you should take the ACT. For those of you who are comfortable with ACT English but struggling with Reading, learn these strategies for the ACT Reading section. Read our staggering list of high quality ACT English prep guides here. Finally, for those of you who aspire for perfection, get advice on how to get a perfect 36 on the ACT. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Relationship between systematic theology and christian ethics Essay

Relationship between systematic theology and christian ethics - Essay Example Christian ethics is mainly guarded by the biblical scriptures and other sacred teachings. In essence, ethics plays a significant role in molding people’s behavior and way of life. In addition, ethics aids in bring order in the society and ensuring that everyone acts accordingly in areas of resident, social gatherings and places of work. In this essay, investigation of the assertion that, there exists a certain relationship between Christian ethics and systematic theology is going to be investigated. Both disciplines focus on instilling good moral values to Christians. In fact, the core objective of these two fields of study is to enhance upright moral behaviors for Christians. For instance, Fedler (2006) argues that Christian ethics provides a guideline on how Christians should conduct themselves in private and public places. Similarly, systematic theology explores the Christian behaviors in order to set a platform for proper application of the Christian ethics. In essence, the two work hand in hand in building and developing the Christianity base. Christians are expected to be good ambassadors of Christ by acting according to the provisions of the bible and other holy texts. According to Christian ethics, a Christian should be an individual whose character is admirable to the members of the society. Actually, Christians should behave in such a way that non-Christians envy to emulate their character. The advancement in technology and education has eroded the good human morals a nd, therefore, systematic theology and Christianethics need to be applied together in order to restore and uphold acceptable morals in the society. According to Jenson (2001), systematic theology is not only an endeavor for Christianity knowledge but also an exposure to God’s truth on humanity. Through systematic theology, people are able to understand the reasons why God ordered some things to be done the way they are done and, this aids in building a well-founded

Mathematics Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mathematics Coursework - Essay Example Employee number 9 had the slightest improvement. The above results can be used while making decisions since they indicate how an organization can do to reduce the time it takes its employees to finish a certain task. Surely, practice makes perfect since after some significant trials, the completion time is reduced significantly. In this regard, the management can encourage its employees to get used to all the tasks so as to be able to finish them taking the shortest time possible. From figures 4 and 5 above, Scatter plots; it is evident that, CEOs pay doesn’t affect the way an organization performs. This can be well represented using a line graph, figure 6 and 7, which shows that, the returns as they increase, there is no corresponding effect in the CEOs pay. These results can be used to clearly show that, the pay given to the top management brass doesn’t translate to high returns. In one instance, the pay is too high but the corresponding pay cannot be yearned for. Money reward has been argued by many as being not a good motivator in the work place since no body will ever get accustomed and feel he/she has had enough to stop looking for money. In many organizations, the use of money as a motivator has been discouraged due to its negative effects. Likewise, in top level management, and from the results above, then we cannot say with certainty that, the CEOs pay will determine where the organization will be in some times to come. The correlation tables 4 and 5 above tells us that, the pay in 2002 and the return have a weak positive correlation, i.e. the pay could weakly talk about the return in 2002. Further, the return and the total pay have a weak negative relationship thus summarizing the assertion that, the CEOs pay may have little to say about the organization’s returns. At 95 percent, the above table confirms that, the two analysts

Euthanasia Essay - Civil Remedies and Assisted Suicide :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Civil Remedies and Assisted Suicide      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay goes into the need for civil remedies to guard against assisted suicide actions by family, guardians, etc. Some states have already enacted such legislation, and others are in the process. This is a simple, safe legal procedure for protecting against the threat ot assisted suicide/euthanasia.    On May 2, 1994, a Michigan jury acquitted Jack Kevorkian of charges related to his publicly proclaimed assistance in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. The verdict points up the way in which the pathos of individual cases often leads criminal case juries to react emotionally, failing to give considerate attention to the general effects on older people and people with disabilities of signaling societal acceptance of death as the solution to human problems. This is a weakness in our society at the present time.    This is one of several strong reasons why more states should follow the lead of Minnesota, Tennessee, and North Dakota, all of which have recently enacted "civil remedy" statutes that, entirely apart from criminal remedies, allow private parties to obtain injunctions against those who assist suicides. Injunctions are granted by judges, without juries, and a judge can punish violators with sanctions for contempt of court.    Regrettably, the Kevorkian acquittal is not an isolated case of jury nullification of laws protecting suicide victims. Recent history demonstrates that no physicians, and few non-physicians, have been successfully prosecuted for assisting suicide. The emotional tug of individual cases makes prosecutors reluctant to seek punishment and juries reluctant to impose it. An article in the November 5, 1992 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine co-authored by Dr. Timothy Quill (who himself escaped penalty when a grand jury refused to indict him for his openly announced participation in assisting a suicide[1]) notes, "In every situation in which a physician has compassionately helped a terminally ill person to commit suicide, criminal charges have been dismissed or a verdict of not guilty has been brought."[2] Other studies confirm this conclusion, which in fact is not limited to circumstances of "terminal illness" or "compassion."[3]    While there have been a few successful criminal prosecutions of non-doctors, they have been extremely rare. A 1986 article in the Columbia Law Review concluded: [A]ll indications are that assistance statutes are rarely, if ever, used. ... [D]espite the thousands of suicides each year, only about fifty news reports regarding some form of prosecution in the past decade for some type of assistance to suicide have been located. Euthanasia Essay - Civil Remedies and Assisted Suicide :: Free Euthanasia Essay Civil Remedies and Assisted Suicide      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay goes into the need for civil remedies to guard against assisted suicide actions by family, guardians, etc. Some states have already enacted such legislation, and others are in the process. This is a simple, safe legal procedure for protecting against the threat ot assisted suicide/euthanasia.    On May 2, 1994, a Michigan jury acquitted Jack Kevorkian of charges related to his publicly proclaimed assistance in the suicide of Thomas Hyde. The verdict points up the way in which the pathos of individual cases often leads criminal case juries to react emotionally, failing to give considerate attention to the general effects on older people and people with disabilities of signaling societal acceptance of death as the solution to human problems. This is a weakness in our society at the present time.    This is one of several strong reasons why more states should follow the lead of Minnesota, Tennessee, and North Dakota, all of which have recently enacted "civil remedy" statutes that, entirely apart from criminal remedies, allow private parties to obtain injunctions against those who assist suicides. Injunctions are granted by judges, without juries, and a judge can punish violators with sanctions for contempt of court.    Regrettably, the Kevorkian acquittal is not an isolated case of jury nullification of laws protecting suicide victims. Recent history demonstrates that no physicians, and few non-physicians, have been successfully prosecuted for assisting suicide. The emotional tug of individual cases makes prosecutors reluctant to seek punishment and juries reluctant to impose it. An article in the November 5, 1992 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine co-authored by Dr. Timothy Quill (who himself escaped penalty when a grand jury refused to indict him for his openly announced participation in assisting a suicide[1]) notes, "In every situation in which a physician has compassionately helped a terminally ill person to commit suicide, criminal charges have been dismissed or a verdict of not guilty has been brought."[2] Other studies confirm this conclusion, which in fact is not limited to circumstances of "terminal illness" or "compassion."[3]    While there have been a few successful criminal prosecutions of non-doctors, they have been extremely rare. A 1986 article in the Columbia Law Review concluded: [A]ll indications are that assistance statutes are rarely, if ever, used. ... [D]espite the thousands of suicides each year, only about fifty news reports regarding some form of prosecution in the past decade for some type of assistance to suicide have been located.

The Ethical Dilemma of THE FIRM

There are a number of ethical dilemmas that are quit obvious on the surface in THE FIRM and play a large role in the development of the narrative. These dilemmas revolve around criminal activity and are obvious. The ethical dilemmas that the main character faces are that of whether or not to continue his relationship with illegal activity or to abandon his complicity of the illegality. This is, of course, compounded by the fact that the authorities realize what is going on and will prosecute the main character if he does not aid them and if he does aid them he will risk discover and, possibly, assassination. Again, while much of the narrative and the ethical dilemmas that resonate from it are obvious, there are also a number of subtle ethical dilemmas that equally contribute to the overt dilemmas that the viewer is clearly aware. Consider how Mitch McDeere, the main character, finds himself in the position that he is in, in the first place. McDeere is not a wealthy man and he supports himself through law school by working as a waiter. He is marries and we must logically assume that his wife is also financially supporting him as a waiter’s tips could never finance a full time law degree course load. (A visual motif is employed when we first see Mitch and his wife – they are eating Chinese take out food right out of the cartons. A cheap device to hint that they are short on cash) Mitch is seemingly humbled by his experience and there is a bit of inferiority found within his perception of himself. When the job offer to work at a law firm in Memphis arises, McDeere is enamored with the job for one reason and one reason alone: money. The Memphis firm simply pays the best and it is located in an area where the cost of living is low. Because of this, McDeere will reap cash rewards and, as a result, cleanse himself and his psyche of the inferiority complex that he developed pinching his budget in order to survive. Of course, this also has created a tunnel vision approach to accepting the job offer and McDeere accepts his job offer from a firm he knows relatively little about. Because he rushes into the union based solely out of a desire for a quick profit, he leaves himself woefully vulnerable as he enters a world that is hardly what it seems. He is not so much entering the legal profession as he is entering the criminal profession as the law firm is heavily involved with organized crime and money laundering. For McDeere’s wife, the dilemma becomes one that conflicts her. Should she stay in the marriage and risk her life or should she leave her husband to his own fate? For McDeere’s mentor, Avery Tolar, his dilemma is that he must convince McDeere to literally reshape his own ethical beliefs so as to accept a life of crime. If he can not convince McDeere of this, Tolar is then faced with the dilemma of what to do with McDeere. In other words, Tolar may be forced to have someone whom he considers a surrogate son assassinated. Therein lies a number of complexities within the framework of THE FIRM: the dilemmas posed to McDeere are interrelated with other characters and, ultimately, the dilemma is rooted not so much in the narrative’s complexities as much as they are rooted in the complexities of the motivations of McDeere. This is further compounded by the fact that McDeere’s motivations have shifted from wealth as a source of providing for his family to wealth for wealth’s sake to simply being able to survive. In order to resolve this dilemma, McDeere must figure a way out of a no win situation. He can take his chances with the firm and hope he will not get prosecuted or he can help the police and risk being killed. Either way, his choices are not exactly good so he must seek a third option that may allow him to circumvent the police and his employers at the firm. This leads McDeere to investigate deeper into the business practices of the firm where he hopes to find the magic bullet that will allow him a safe passage out of the dilemma he finds himself. Eventually, he does find an escape and it is the downfall of the film as a serious drama. The way in which the ethical dilemma was resolved is, quite honestly, insane. That is to say, it would appear that the producers of the film did not like the ending of the novel and wanted to create a more upbeat â€Å"Hollywood† ending. In the novel, McDeere and his wife have â€Å"co-opted† quite a bit of the firms money and run away. The novel ends with them on a ship sailing away to a new life and we presume they also will have new identities. The ending of the novel is purposefully ambiguous leading the reader to assume that the escape may or may not work. Whether it does or not is irrelevant as the purpose of the ending of the novel is to show that McDeere has matured and has become self sufficient as well as to provide a cautionary warning to those who make the errors of pride that McDeere embodied. The cinematic adaptation of THE FIRM was a summer release featuring a bankable, box office star. Simply put, there was NO WAY the studio was going to risk losing money with an ending audiences would find too downbeat. In the ending of the film, McDeere’s moral dilemma is solved by presenting the mafia bosses who employ the firm with records of over billings. This way, the mob no longer works with the firm. They will not kill McDeere because he has provided them with proof that they have been â€Å"ripped off† and now the mob will file criminal charges against the firm. To put it mildly, this ending is UTTERLY IDIOTIC, and ruins all the proceedings of the film. It is, however, the way the ending of the film is scripted and it is how a convenient ending is crafted to escape the dilemma the main character faces. Would a different framework to the ending have provided a better conclusion? Had the original ending of the novel been retained the answer would be yes as the ending would have made more logical sense within the genre as the cinematic ending was too ridiculous and contrived. Furthermore, the cinematic ending allows McDeere to EVADE his dilemma that actually confronting it. That is, he plays a sleight of hand game to remove himself from the equation and eliminate the mob’s threat. Again, the ending is silly, but it is the ending we are stuck with. In terms of the overall entertainment value of the subgenres of courtroom/crime/police procedural dramas, there are a number of reasons for the success of these genres despite the fact that these subgenres have a great deal going against them: the age brackets they appeal to are limited and plots are generally not ‘popcorn’ entertainment, yet audiences turn out in droves to see them. (THE FIRM grossed well over $100 million in theaters when first released) Of all the reasons that these subgenres are popular, there are two reasons that stand out the most. First, the audience perceives the films to be â€Å"real.† Of course, what is presented on screen is far removed from what really exists in the mundane world of criminal investigations and courtroom proceedings, but the genres root themselves in the realm of plausibility. While the events that are presented on screen generally do not happen in the dramatic manner in which the events are portrayed, there is the possibility that they could happen in such a manner. As such, the narrative becomes gripping and it draws the audience into the seriousness of the proceedings. Second, the audience finds the morality play in these types of films to be gripping. THE FIRM is not a film that deals exclusively with corruption as it relates to the plot as much as it is a condemnation of corruption in general which is then dramatized in the form of a cinematic morality play. The concept of the audience learning moral lessons in from the entertainment medium is hardly a new concept and it is perennially popular. While such morality lessons started with Greek myths they have carried over into modern cinema where they remain equally popular and will remain so for many years to come. Ultimately, THE FIRM is an excellent thriller that poses a number of ethical dilemmas for the cast of characters as well as the audience. Sadly, the ending cheats both the characters and the audience out of an effective cure for the dilemma, but the film remains entertaining overall despite its flaws. Bibliography Davis, J. (Producer), & Pollack, S. (Director). (1993). The Firm [Motion picture]. Los Angeles, CA: Paramount. Grisham, John. (1992) The Firm. Paperback Edition.   New York: Pengui