Dama presented for examination Essay Example for Free

Dama presented for examination Essay A written account of practical work undertaken in year 11 resulting in a piece of drama presented for examination. We started the Christmas term 2001 with group warm-up exercises, before even thinking about what we were going to perform in late November or who we were going to work with. These were fun class activities, used to build up group relationships. We did such things as human noughts and crosses, using nine chairs in a 3 by 3 square with the girls as noughts and the boys as crosses. We played 5 games, resulting in one draw and the boys winning 3 to the girls 1. It was fun and used really to warm us up. We then went on to play two games of winking murder. We all sat round in a circle on chairs with our eyes closed while Mrs. Powles walked round the circle tapping someone on the shoulder, telling that person that they are the murderer. Then its all eyes open and we try to work out who the murderer is. Meanwhile, the murderer is winking discreetly at people, killing them. It was very enjoyable and it helped to build up group relationships. Following that, we were assigned the task of pretending to be a salesperson of some description at a drinks evening. We had to decide what we were selling and how to sell it. Once that was decided, we had to go around the class introducing ourselves to each other and trying to sell our product to them in under 2 minutes. It involved much interaction between us all and helped tremendously to strengthen group relationships. Shortly after, we were asked to write on a piece of paper who we wanted to work with and who we did not want to work with if we thought that we would not produce to the best of our ability if we were with them. Finally, I ended up working with Elise, which was great as I had never worked with her before and we were good friends. She didnt seem to complain either, which was a good sign. Then we spent an entire double lesson going through all of Mrs. Powles plays that she had to decide on one to perform an extract out of for the exam in December. We settled finally on an extract from the play The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn, as we both decided that we wanted to do a comical piece, but not farcical, so it fitted nicely. After searching through the book for a while, we finally came across a suitable duologue between Norman and Sarah. Norman is a librarian, but this definitely does not define his character at all. He is a womaniser, married to Ruth, attempted to have an affair with her sister Annie who is engaged to Tom, and is now working his charms on his other sister-in-law, Sarah, Elises character, who is married to Reg. Sarah is a more strict, clean, and prim character. However, it is sometimes clear that Sarah is quite jealous of Annie because she is the one that Norman says he wants and she wants to replace Annie in Normans eyes. It does eventually happen, as in the second scene they kiss. The extract immediately appealed to both of us, so we decided to give it a try. The extract we did in November was actually two different dialogues taken from two different points in the play. The first is set in the living room in the house and the second is set in the garden. Immediate difficulties we experienced with the exert were few, but as ever there were some. The biggest problem in my mind at the beginning was how to perform the kissing part of the second scene effectively and without embarrassment. It really needed to look convincing as it is the peak of Sarahs life, experiencing the closest thing she will ever feel to true love. It was essential that this came across in the performance. Then came the blocking of the scenes. First of all we just exchanged ideas and thoughts, coming up with a skeletal plan for how to go about performing both scenes. We discussed things such as how lines should be spoken, facial expressions and other small but significant effects. Afterwards we concentrated mainly on the first scene to get that near-perfect before trying the second scene. Once we had familiarized ourselves with the scene and had fairly certain ideas about what to do, we started to really act it out. Not long after, we did hot-seating as a class in which the person in the hot-seat had to answer their questions as their character. I enjoyed listening to other people answer questions with much thought, as they delved into previously unexplored regions of their character. When my turn came, I found it to be a very interesting experience, being able to answer questions as a different person. I had to capture his frame of mind and be able to answer the questions convincingly as Norman. It really helped me to get to grips with Normans character, behaviour and motivation and also to further my acting ability as Norman. When it was Elises turn, it too helped me to understand her character better than I previously did, which enabled me to respond to her better in the play. Following that, we spent most, if not all, of our time concentrating on the first scene, filling in the gaps and finalising parts of it. Performing it in front of the class also helped a lot as it was open to criticism and any ideas from the class or Mrs. Powles. One idea that really affected what we had rehearsed so far was that at the beginning of the first scene, Sarah storms in and physically removes my feet from the arm of the armchair before she sits on it. We had thought this to be a good idea to convey that Sarah was angry with Norman, which she was. The suggestion was that this was not a bad idea, just that it would be more effective if Sarah came in and stared at my feet distastefully, as if daring me to leave them there. When I then remove them, she brushes the arm with her hand before sitting in the chair. This, we decided, was much better than our original plan as it shows that Sarah is a less physical person, more prim and uptight. Throughout all the extract from then on, the amount of physical interaction Sarah did was kept to a bare minimum. We started needing the script less and less and we started on the second scene a definite sign of all-round progress. I found the second scene much more difficult to do than the first, mainly for two reasons. The first was that I had to act drunk, as prior to this scene, offstage, Norman has been consuming large amounts of wine. The real difficulty with this was that I had to appear drunk by staggering around and slurring my words. The staggering part was okay to act but the slurring was the real problem as I still had to be understood by the audience. With practice and advice form Mrs. Powles, however, this problem was soon overcome. The second problem was the kissing part. We knew this would be difficult when we chose the piece, but we still chose to do it. Once the initial embarrassment of it was overcome, there was still an awkward feeling as Elise was my friend. But this we endured right up to the end. As the exam date drew nearer, we spent our time polishing up the piece and adding finishing touches to it, such as sound effects and music. We spent a lot of time searching through the sound effects for some birdsong to be used at the beginning of the second scene, just to inform the audience that it was set outside. As for music, we originally thought about using When a man loves a woman, but in the end we decided on using Irresistible by the Corrs. For lighting effects, we used straw and golden gels on fresnel spots. With regards to costume, we decided that I would look best in a pair of corduroy trousers with a check shirt. But unfortunately I could not obtain a pair of corduroy trousers, so we settled for a pair of chinos with a leather belt. This, we thought, conveyed Normans character quite well; not trendy or modern, yet laid back and charming. For Sarah, we both decided that Elise would look appropriate in a grey skirt suit, as it would convey Sarahs prim and proper personality. When the final day came, it went very smoothly. Neither of us made any real mistakes and our lines were as perfect as they ever would have been. Overall we were both very pleased with our final performance. And, thankfully the audience did seem to enjoy it as they laughed in all the right places, sometimes a bit more enthusiastically than we both had previously expected, which could have meant only good things.

Marlows Epiphany in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Epiphany in Heart of Darkness  Ã‚   Marlow, in the novel "The Heart of Darkness," experiences an epiphany, or a dramatic moment in which a character intuitively grasps the essential nature or meaning of some situation. The moment in which Marlow experiences his epiphany is right after the helmsman gets killed by natives, which are associated with Kurtz. The thing that Marlow realizes is the savagery of man and the corruption of the ivory trade. The actual change takes place when Marlow sees the helmsman die. Marlow sees the death take place and is shocked. "The side of his head hit the wheel twice, and the end of what appeared a long cane clattered round and knocked over a little campstool. ... my feet felt so very warm and wet that I had to look down. ... It was the shaft of a spear that...had caught him in the side just below the ribs. I had to make and effort to free my eyes from his gaze and attend to the steering. ... I declare it looked as though he would presently put to us some question in an understandable language; but he died without uttering a sound, without moving a limb, without twitching a muscle. ... 'He is dead,' murmured the fellow, immensely impressed. 'No doubt about it,' said I ." When this happened, Marlow realized the savagery of man, horror of death, and the corruption of the ivory trade. He realizes that in the ivory trade, that the ivory is more valuable than human life and that traders will do almost anything to get it. Marlow also realizes man's savagery in the event that man puts greater value on riches than on human life. This is the epiphany of Marlow in "The Heart of Darkness." The epiphany of Marlow in "The Heart of Darkness" has significance in the overall story. The theme of the story is how every man has inside himself a heart of darkness and that a person, being alienated like Kurtz, will become more savage. Marlow, in his epiphany, realizes the savagery of man and how being alienated from modern civilization causes one to be savage and raw. This savagery is shown especially in the death of the helmsman, which is where Marlow's epiphany takes place, but the savagery is also show in Kurtz. The link that Kurtz has to the natives and the death of the helmsman is that the natives work for Kurtz.

Evaluate One Philosophical Theory That Tries to Deal with Agrippa’s Trilemma.

Evaluate one philosophical theory that tries to deal with Agrippa’s Trilemma. Agrippa’s Trilemma gives us the three possibilities when trying to justify a belief. The first is that our beliefs are unsupported; the second that there is an infinite chain of justification; the third being that there is a circular chain of justification. One theory that tries to deal with this is foundationalism, which suggests the first option of Agrippa’s Trilemma is true. Throughout this essay I will argue why although one of the more popular theories, it still has its flaws.Foundationalism suggests that the first option of Agrippa’s Trilemma- that there are beliefs that can be unsupported- is correct for certain ‘foundational’ beliefs. The epistemic regress argument, as explained well Richard Fumerton, shows how this is likely to be the case. It’s best to explain this with an example. Let’s say, a man comes up to you and tells you it is going to rain tomorrow, and as evidence he says ‘because the winds are going to change direction’. You ask him why he thinks this, and he says he just ‘has a feeling’.Naturally you take this as nonsense, a poor justification for his claim, and don’t believe him. This shows us then that to be justified in believing something, P, because of E, you must be justified in believing E. However, let’s say his justification for believing E- that the winds were changing bringing rain- was that he saw it in a gypsy’s crystal ball. Though he may think this is a good justification because he believes in that sort of thing, you are sceptical and again dismiss his claim.This brings us to expand our first principle to what is known as the Principle of Inferential Justification (PIJ): ‘To have justification for believing P on the basis of E one must not only have (1) justification for believing E, but (2) justification for believing that E makes probable P . ’ (Fumerton, 2002) From the PIJ we can easily show how the epistemic regress argument unfolds. Going back to the example, if you were to believe P, there must be another proposition you could legitimately infer it to be true; E1.But, surely the only way E1 could justify you that P is true is if E1 is itself justified, and if justification is inferential then it would mean E1 would have to be legitimately inferred from another proposition; E2. As you can see this would go on and on infinitely, hence why it’s a ‘regress’ argument (Fumerton, 2002). The solution would be to reach a proposition that didn’t need any further justification, one that was noninferential- self-justifiable- and so could be a ‘foundational’ belief.One foundational belief thought up by Rene Descartes is that he existed, in his famous Cotigo Ergo Sum ‘I think, therefore I am’ meditation (Descartes, 1641). From being sure of his existence he then tried t o build more beliefs, which is how foundationalism works. The idea of his existence is, to him, infallible, and therefore it could theoretically be used as foundation on which to build more beliefs. However, even such foundations such as the existence of one’s self can be called into question. It is believed that truly infallible beliefs are very few, or arguably do not exist at all (Pritchard, 2006, 41).This is a problem because, even if a truly infallible belief or beliefs can be deduced, they would be too few and too narrow to be able to build a complex series of beliefs on top of. What I mean by this is that the path from basic foundational beliefs to derived beliefs would be very tricky to bridge. Pritchard used the example of believing 2+2=4 as infallible. How then, he argued, would he deduce from this belief that he is sitting at his desk? The problem with suggesting the foundational belief must be infallible is that it is too strict. Logical entailment’- where p logically follows a proposition q, therefore p cannot be true without q being true- is a key part of foundationalism, and so foundationalists with the belief that foundational beliefs must be truly infallible have to deal with this problem (Foundationalism, n. d. ). In response to this, Pritchard goes on to say you could argue that fallible beliefs perhaps could be used as a foundation. The reasoning for this is because infallible beliefs are too strict so perhaps the only option is to open up to such beliefs.An example would be sensory beliefs; perhaps these should be accepted as foundational beliefs. However he acknowledges that this does create another problem: that you would have to argue why you think these deserve to be foundational beliefs. Surely though, sensory beliefs such as ‘there is a book on my desk because ‘I can see it’ have some doubt, and still require justification of their own? The doubt I am referring to is you could, however unlikely, be ha llucinating the book and therefore are not fully justified in believing it is there.Your senses cannot be fully trusted. You would have to then justify, surely, ‘how do you know your eyes are seeing a book and your brain isn’t just hallucinating’, and by doing this you are proving that sensory beliefs are not fully grounded foundational beliefs. This argument is similar to the ‘evil demon argument’ and dream argument’, as they also dismiss sensory beliefs as foundational (Descartes, 1641). This shows that fallible beliefs also have their problems. Some argue that these non-inferential justified beliefs simply don’t exist.Let’s say that statement P is claimed to be a non-inferential justified belief. For subject S to be justified in believing P is true, he must have a reason. He must also therefore have a belief in which gives him this reason to justify his believing in P. But how can this be, that S relies on another belief? By b eing inferentially justified, it has just contradicted itself (Pojman, n. d). However a counter for this by some foundationalists would simply be that there needn’t be a reason for believing P but P itself, as is the definition of a ‘self-justifiable’ belief.So, I believe the argument for foundationalism is a good one because as finite beings we cannot deal with an infinite chain of justifications. There must be a bottom, such as Descartes foundational belief. I cannot, however, ignore the arguments against foundationalism. Fallible beliefs should be dismissed as they are flawed from the start, because claiming a belief that can be doubted as fully-grounded is doomed to fail from the start. The problem of moving basic beliefs on to more complex derived beliefs is harder to counter, but I’d still say that infallible foundational beliefs are still the strongest argument for foundationalism.Perhaps it is just that no philosopher has yet discovered undeniable non-inferrential foundational beliefs so far. Word count – 1140 Bibliography Descartes, R (1641) ‘Meditations on First Philosophy’, in John Cottingham (ed) ‘Meditations on First Philosophy: Cambridge University Press, 13-15, 17 Fumerton, R. (2002) ‘Conditions and Analyses of Knowing’, in Moser, P. (ed. ) The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology Oxford: OUP, 204-33. Foundationalism. (1999) [ONLINE] Available at: ]. Pojman, [ONLINE] Available at: [Accessed 18 November 12] Pritchard, D. (2006) What is this thing called knowledge? London: Routledge, 39-41

Essay about Why Does Social Work Appeal To Me - 1506 Words

Why does Social Work appeal to me? As a social worker you are responsible to uphold the community especially the disadvantaged either with guidance, psychological counseling and assistance with basics such as housing and places to obtain food. In buffalo much is needed especially in the disadvantaged communities by providing education and special services for those who need it. These are some of the reasons why I would love to become a social worker to obtain knowledge that would be helpful for individuals that need help with solving problems in their everyday lives. I am in interested in the aspects of Social Work that has to do with medical and public health issues and substance abuse. From my research medical/public health social†¦show more content†¦Help them cope with the stresses of school, work, and children by providing a group therapy that allows them to vent their frustrations and accomplishments as parents and students. I am seeking professional education at this time not only because I want to become a social worker to start helping individuals with everyday needs but also because my daughter is becoming aware of what I do; how I do it and I would like to show her that education is always the best in order to move forward in life, since it’s rewarding for all involved. I would like to teach her that even if we make mistakes in life, we are able to move forward by making life decisions such as continuing your education to improve yourself. Five years following education, I would love to work with changing the lives of many substance abuse or chronically ill individual. With the substance abuse individual I teach them skills that they are able to use every day in order to fight the temptations of the drug. Since we know that anything from a song, to the environment or friends that use can trigger a relapse we need to educate them of the importance that this can be a possibility and how to maintain themselves from these by either they t hemselves going out andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work By Jean Anyon1167 Words   |  5 PagesIn A Specific Social Classes Jean Ayon is a professor of educational policy, an American critical thinker, and a researcher in education. She works on race and class in urban education and is a social activist. In her article â€Å"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work† she uses research from elementary schools that contrast in social class to try and understand if social class is the dictating factor that decides the future careers of children. Anyon examines the role of social class in educationRead MoreAnalysis1003 Words   |  5 Pagesintended audience. What I did to fix this is by explaining more about why I believed the organization of the author was effective. For example, I said â€Å"The organization of her writing allows her audiences to see the cause and effects peer culture has on the Muslim community. She is successful in educating the audience, and portraying her standpoint on the policies that are not being regulated†. This concluding sentence does say what and why the orga nization of the author’s writing was effective and whatRead MoreA Passion for the Planet Case Study1145 Words   |  5 PagesA Passion for the Planet Case Study 1. What role, if any, does McGregor’s Theory Y play at Patagonia? Explain. First, McGregor’s Theory Y is a modern and positive set of assumptions about people. McGregor believed managers could accomplish more through others by viewing them as self-energized , committed, responsible, and creative beings(Kreitner and Kinicki,2010, pg.8). According to the passage, â€Å"Patagonia’s philosophy is the handiwork of Chouinard....He helped pioneer modern rock-climbingRead MoreGenre Of A Motivational Athlete Tweet1334 Words   |  6 Pageshe ended up winning five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and also go down as one of the best to ever play the game of basketball. This tweet really stands out to me. It motivates me; just because someone says that you can’t do something doesn’t mean that you can’t do it, if you put your mind to it and put in the work you can be as successful as you want. As stated before, this is a motivational athlete tweet, which is meant to target the audience of either young athletes or people who needRead MoreMy Role Models: A Personal Statement659 Words   |  3 PagesWhen my older brother told me that I could shadow him at work, I leapt at the opportunity. I have always admired Ken. He graduated from UCI with a degree in finance. I used to look up to him when I was younger, so it made sense that I would continue to look up to him now as I am seeking direction and good role models. My mentor, Ken has shown me what it is like to work in the financial sector in ways that school cannot do. The daily work of handling investment portfolios and financial strategizingRead MoreThe Topic Of Mental Health Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesPSAs is to spark a public discussion about mental health. Although both PSAs use the rhetorical appeal of mythos through their stereotypical portrayal of gender roles, Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M) focuses on mental illness itself and primarily utilizes a pathos appeal whereas Mental Health Australia (MHA) highlights the individual as the initiator of t he conversation and emphasizes a more logical appeal. BC2M’s PSA features a college-aged, bespectacled female wearing a graphic T-shirt in what I wouldRead MoreWhy Don t We Complain By William F. Buckley976 Words   |  4 Pagesmaking these choices. Why does this become habitual? Is it because integrity is holding him back? These questions are always hard to answer, because no one really thinks about integrity, honesty, or the need to speak up. William Buckley and Stephanie Ericsson, however, do address these topics with a huge amount of thought and purpose. Buckley and Ericsson, under the thematic concept of ethics, have valid points concerning ethics within their rhetoric and style. In the essay â€Å"Why Don’t We ComplainRead MoreGender Roles, Hair, Relationship Problems1526 Words   |  7 Pagesearly 1900’s when â€Å"the position of women in our society was, in many respects, comparable to that of blacks under the pre-Civil War slave codes.† (Kang, 8, Quoted by Bradley in Bradwell, 62). My findings and realizations from personal experience made me aware that women are still subjected to many unfair expectations. We still, in our society place a lot of emphasis on gender and what is appropriate, or expected of each; though it is now subtle. We often unknowingly tell ourselves â€Å"its just how itRead MoreMother Tongue1199 Words   |  5 PagesShe tells us this mother’s brief review is a proof of success of her writing. Why does she think that easiness is an essence of her writing? She suggests answers to this question by her essay. In her essay, Amy Tan effectively convinces her readers that â€Å"broken English† is not an inferior language, but just a different style of English that has values in it by depicting her personal experiences and strong appeal to pathos. She makes her readers to have sympathetic emotions for her mother andRead MoreLeadership Analysis : President Of A Community Agency That Assists Traumatized Children And Their Families1692 Words   |  7 Pagescomposed of multiple, yet distinct parts â€Å"1. Charisma (idealized influence, attributes and behaviors) 2. Intellectual stimulation 3. Individual consideration and, 4. Inspirational motivation† (p. 18). In a study performed by Gellis (2001), 187 clinical social workers agreed that they preferred the style of transformational leadership, and the use of encouragement seen in the transformational style was cited as having a positive correlation with increased effort. Leader X uses the transformational leadership

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Essay on The Importance of Pearl in Hawthornes The...

The Significance of Pearl One of the most complex characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the story, she develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is shunned from society because of her mothers sin. She is a living representation of the scarlet letter, acting as a constant reminder of Hesters sin. Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant, ...whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion. (Hawthorne 81). From the beginning of her life she is viewed as the†¦show more content†¦The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate, (Hawthorne 168). The sunshine is grateful for Pearl, accepting her as an equal. Hawthorne describes another sign of acceptance as the great black forest...became the playmate of the lonely infant. (Hawthorne 187). Eventually it is declared, The truth seems to be, however, that the mother-forest, and these wild things which it nourished all recognized wildness in the human child. (Hawthorne 188). Because the community does not accept her, Pearl takes on the characteristics of nature because nature accepts her as one of its own. Pearls character lacked reference, and adapt ation to the world into which she was born. The child could not be made amenable to rules. (Hawthorne 83). This quote shows a striking resemblance in description between Pearl and nature. Pearl and nature are referred to as not adapting to Puritan society. This characteristic makes Pearl so different because she is unaffected by the community, and is a product of nature and its ways. Hawthornes descriptions and developments of the relationship between Pearl and Nature further characterize Pearl who has been thrust out of Puritan society. The members of the Puritan society view PearlShow MoreRelatedScarlet Letter : A Dark Gloom Hung1105 Words   |  5 PagesGeorge Mallinos Mrs. Costigan AP English III 16 February 2015 The Scarlet Letter A dark gloom hung over Nathaniel Hawthorne’s head for most of his life causing his writings to be intoxicated with his everlasting thrust for darkness. In The Scarlet Letter he plants his trade mark of sin, redemption, and guilt into history’s abiding collection of remarkable writings. 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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter, has acquired many different renditions of the cover over the years from different artists. In his story, a young Puritan, Hester Prynne, is sentenced to a punishment of the scarlet letter after she has committed adultery with an unnamed man. Hawthorne’s narrative is filled with in depth characters, symbolism, and themes of revenge, sin, forgiveness and secrecyRead MoreNatha niel Hawthornes The Scarlett Letter Essay1269 Words   |  6 PagesPearls of Wisdom Create a list of typical kid nicknames: It’s safe to say your list probably consists of names like â€Å"sugar†, â€Å"cupcake-face†, and â€Å"sweetheart.† The assumption can also be made, therefore, that you don’t encounter â€Å"witch-baby†, â€Å"elf-child†, and â€Å"demon† as sobriquets for most seven-year-old children. Puritans, as it turns out, are skilled in the nomenclature of rejection, up to and including the child of an adulteress. Pearl Prynne, named for her worth to a mother who sacrificed everythingRead MoreThe Great Author Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay1261 Words   |  6 Pagesa visual picture. His mind often turned to matters associated with human judgments on mortality, with guilt and its consequences (Turner). In the novel Hawthorne’s short stories he has a series of stories that have to do with things like suffering, honor, and religion. One good novel that deals with all of these things as well is Th e Scarlet Letter including loneliness, revenge, shame, and betrayal. Hawthorne is also known to strongly show Puritan beliefs. Hawthorne would search out moral implicationsRead MoreA Cultural Critical Reading Of The Scarlet Letter Essay1711 Words   |  7 PagesThrough a Cultural Critical reading of the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is evident that it is not only great piece of American literature, but also an analysis of Hawthorne’s 18th century knowledge about the culture and society of Puritans. The Scarlet Letter is not really an accurate representation of Puritan culture; however, it does represent how Puritan culture was seen in the 18th century, and to the people in Hawthorne’s period, they were harsh towards women, children, and cruellyRead MoreEssay about Sin, Alienation, and Love in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter944 Words   |  4 Pages The Scarlet Letter: The Themes of Sin, Alienation, and Love nbsp; The Puritans, a religious group in New England in the early 1600’s, interpreted the Bible form a fundamentalist perspective and strove to attain a sinless society.nbsp; Of course, people are human and sins are inevitable so the Puritans sinned and their perfect society was never achieved.nbsp;nbsp; Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter develops the themes of sin, alienation, and love to provide valuable insights intoRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1516 Words   |  7 Pagesare used in symbols. These three types can be found in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. The three types of symbols that Fromm mentions in his article are conventional, accidental, and universal symbols. Conventional symbols are symbols that â€Å"we employ it in everyday language† (121) and they can have â€Å"an inherent connection with the feeling it symbolizes† (122). The scarlet letter is a conventional symbol since it is a letter. Accidental symbols, in the words of Erich Fromm, are relationshipsRead MoreThe Symbol Of Pearl In The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1414 Words   |  6 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter exhibits 17th century Boston, Massachusetts and the puritans’ lifestyle through the story of Hester Prynne and her sin. Society casts Hester out for her sin of adultery by making her wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her bosom. Hester commits adultery with another man, and later gives birth to a baby girl, Pearl. Although Pearl at first seems to be just the child of Hester and is a supporting character, she later becomes a significant part of the novel and is a prominentRead MoreAnalysis Of Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter 866 Words   |  4 PagesTruths Hawthorne’s wilderness is exactly what its name implies: wild. It does not hold the same rules or laws that Puritan civilization does. Instead it presents a myriad of situations and emotions, which make it one of the most important symbols in The Scarlet Letter. However, there is a twist. It doesn’t just symbolize one thing, but two that are distinctly contrary to one another. The forest can be a place of true nature where a person is shown as who they are supposed to be, not who other people

Zoe’s Tale PART III Chapter Twenty-One Free Essays

The next morning I found out Dad was under arrest. â€Å"It’s not exactly arrest,† Dad said at our kitchen table, having his morning coffee. â€Å"I’ve been relieved of my position as colony leader and have to travel back to Phoenix Station for an inquiry. We will write a custom essay sample on Zoe’s Tale PART III Chapter Twenty-One or any similar topic only for you Order Now So it’s more like a trial. And if that goes badly then I’ll be arrested.† â€Å"Is it going to go badly?† I asked. â€Å"Probably,† Dad said. â€Å"They don’t usually have an inquiry if they don’t know how it’s going to turn out, and if it was going to turn out well, they wouldn’t bother to have it.† He sipped his coffee. â€Å"What did you do?† I asked. I had my own coffee, loaded up with cream and sugar, which was sitting ignored in front of me. I was still in shock about Enzo, and this really wasn’t helping. â€Å"I tried to talk General Gau out of walking into the trap we set for him and his fleet,† Dad said. â€Å"When we met I asked him not to call his fleet. Begged him not to, actually. It was against my orders. I was told to engage in ‘nonessential conversation’ with him. As if you can have nonessential conversation with someone who is planning to take over your colony, and whose entire fleet you’re about to blow up.† â€Å"Why did you do it?† I asked. â€Å"Why did you try to give General Gau an out?† â€Å"I don’t know,† Dad said. â€Å"Probably because I didn’t want the blood of all those crews on my hands.† â€Å"You weren’t the one who set off the bombs,† I said. â€Å"I don’t think that matters, do you?† Dad said. He set down his cup. â€Å"I was still part of the plan. I was still an active participant. I still bear some responsibility. I wanted to know that at the very least I tried in some small way to avoid so much bloodshed. I guess I was just hoping there might be a way to do things other than the way that ends up with everyone getting killed.† I got up out of my chair and gave my dad a big hug. He took it, and then looked at me, a little surprised, when I sat back down. â€Å"Thank you,† he said. â€Å"I’d like to know what that was about.† â€Å"It was me being happy that we think alike,† I said. â€Å"I can tell we’re related, even if it’s not biologically.† â€Å"I don’t think anyone would doubt we think alike, dear,† Dad said. â€Å"Although given that I’m about to get royally shafted by the Colonial Union, I’m not sure it’s such a good thing for you.† â€Å"I think it is,† I said. â€Å"And biology or not, I think we’re both smart enough to figure out that things are not going well for anyone,† Dad said. â€Å"This is a real big mess, nor are we out of it.† â€Å"Amen,† I said. â€Å"How are you, sweetheart?† Dad asked. â€Å"Are you going to be okay?† I opened my mouth to say something and closed it again. â€Å"I think right now I want to talk about anything else in the world besides how I’m doing,† I said, finally. â€Å"All right,† Dad said. He started talking about himself then, not because he was an egotist but because he knew listening to him would help me take my mind off my own worries. I listened to him talk on without worrying too much about what he said. Dad left on the supply ship San Joaquin the next day, with Manfred Trujillo and a couple other colonists who were going as representatives of Roanoke, on political and cultural business. That was their cover, anyway. What they were really doing, or so Jane had told me, was trying to find out anything about what was going on in the universe involving Roanoke and who had attacked us. It would take a week for Dad and the others to reach Phoenix Station; they’d spend a day or so there and then it would take another week for them to return. Which is to say, it’d take another week for everyone but Dad to return; if Dad’s inquiry went against him, he wouldn’t be coming back. We tried not to think about that. Three days later most of the colony converged on the Gugino homestead and said good-bye to Bruno and Natalie, Maria, Katherina, and Enzo. They were buried where they had died; Jane and others had removed the missile debris that had fallen on them, reshaped the area with new soil, and set new sod on top. A marker was placed to note the family. At some point in the future, there might be another, larger marker, but for now it was small and simple: the family name, the name of the members, and their dates. It reminded me of my own family marker, where my biological mother lay. For some reason I found this a little bit comforting. Magdy’s father, who had been Bruno Gugino’s closest friend, spoke warmly about the whole family. A group of singers came and sang two of Natalie’s favorite hymns from Zhong Guo. Magdy spoke, briefly and with difficulty about his best friend. When he sat back down, Gretchen was there to hold him while he sobbed. Finally we all stood and some prayed and others stood silently, with their heads bowed, thinking about missing friends and loved ones. Then people left, until it was just me and Gretchen and Magdy, standing silently by the marker. â€Å"He loved you, you know,† Magdy said to me, suddenly. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"No,† Magdy said, and I saw how he was trying to get across to me that he wasn’t just making comforting words. â€Å"I’m not talking about how we say we love something, or love people we just like. He really loved you, Zoe. He was ready to spend his whole life with you. I wish I could make you believe this.† I took out my PDA, opened it to Enzo’s poem, and showed it to Magdy. â€Å"I believe it,† I said. Magdy read the poem, nodded. Then he handed the PDA back to me. â€Å"I’m glad,† he said. â€Å"I’m glad he sent that to you. I used to make fun of him because he wrote you those poems. I told him that he was just being a goof.† I smiled at that. â€Å"But now I’m glad he didn’t listen to me. I’m glad he sent them. Because now you know. You know how much he loved you.† Magdy broke down as he tried to finish that sentence. I came up to him and held him and let him cry. â€Å"He loved you too, Magdy,† I said to him. â€Å"As much as me. As much as anyone. You were his best friend.† â€Å"I loved him too,† Magdy said. â€Å"He was my brother. I mean, not my real brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He started to get a look on his face; he was annoyed with himself that he wasn’t expressing himself like he wanted. â€Å"No, Magdy,† I said. â€Å"You were his real brother. In every way that matters, you were his brother. He knew you thought of him that way. And he loved you for it.† â€Å"I’m sorry, Zoe,† Magdy said, and looked down at his feet. â€Å"I’m sorry I always gave you and Enzo a hard time. I’m sorry.† â€Å"Hey,† I said, gently. â€Å"Stop that. You were supposed to give us a hard time, Magdy. Giving people a hard time is what you do. Ask Gretchen.† â€Å"It’s true,† Gretchen said, not unkindly. â€Å"It really is.† â€Å"Enzo thought of you as his brother,† I said. â€Å"You’re my brother too. You have been all this time. I love you, Magdy.† â€Å"I love you too, Zoe,† Magdy said quietly, and then looked straight at me. â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"You’re welcome.† I gave him another hug. â€Å"Just remember that as your new family member I’m now entitled to give you all sorts of crap.† â€Å"I can’t wait,† Magdy said, and then turned to Gretchen. â€Å"Does this make you my sister too?† â€Å"Considering our history, you better hope not,† Gretchen said. Magdy laughed at that, which was a good sign, then gave me a peck on a cheek, gave Gretchen a hug, and then walked from the grave of his friend and brother. â€Å"Do you think he’s going to be okay?† I asked Gretchen, as we watched him go. â€Å"No,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Not for a long time. I know you loved Enzo, Zoe, I really do, and I don’t want this to sound like I’m trying to undercut that. But Enzo and Magdy were two halves of the same whole.† She nodded to Magdy. â€Å"You lost someone you love. He’s lost part of himself. I don’t know if he’s going to get over that.† â€Å"You can help him,† I said. â€Å"Maybe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But think about what you’re asking me to do.† I laughed. It’s why I loved Gretchen. She was the smartest girl I ever knew, and smart enough to know that being smart had its own repercussions. She could help Magdy, all right, by becoming part of what he was missing. But it meant her being that, one way or another, for the rest of their lives. She would do it, because when it came down to it she really did love Magdy. But she was right to worry about what it meant for her. â€Å"Anyway,† Gretchen said, â€Å"I’m not done helping someone else.† I snapped out of my thoughts at that. â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"Well. You know. I’m okay.† â€Å"I know,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I also know you lie horribly.† â€Å"I can’t fool you,† I said. â€Å"No,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Because what Enzo was to Magdy, I am to you.† I hugged her. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"Good,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Whenever you forget, I’ll remind you.† â€Å"Okay,† I said. We unhugged and Gretchen left me alone with Enzo and his family, and I sat with them for a long time. Four days later, a note from Dad from a skip drone from Phoenix Station. A miracle, it said. I’m not headed for prison. We are heading back on the next supply ship. Tell Hickory and Dickory that I will need to speak to them when I return. Love you. There was another note for Jane, but she didn’t tell me what was in it. â€Å"Why would Dad want to talk to you?† I asked Hickory. â€Å"We don’t know,† Hickory said. â€Å"The last time he and I spoke of anything of any importance was the day – I am sorry – that your friend Enzo died. Some time ago, before we left Huckleberry, I had mentioned to Major Perry that the Obin government and the Obin people stood ready to assist you and your family here on Roanoke should you need our assistance. Major Perry reminded me of that conversation and asked me if the offer still stood. I told him that at the time I believed it did.† â€Å"You think Dad is going to ask for your help?† I asked. â€Å"I do not know,† Hickory said. â€Å"And since I last spoke to Major Perry circumstances have changed.† â€Å"What do you mean?† I asked. â€Å"Dickory and I have finally received detailed updated information from our government, up to and including its analysis of the Colonial Union’s attack on the Conclave fleet,† Hickory said. â€Å"The most important piece of news is that we have been informed that shortly after the Magellan disappeared, the Colonial Union came to the Obin government and asked it not to search for the Roanoke colony, nor to offer it assistance if it were to be located by the Conclave or any other race.† â€Å"They knew you would come looking for me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"But why would they tell you not to help us?† I asked. â€Å"Because it would interfere with the Colonial Union’s own plans to lure the Conclave fleet to Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"That’s happened,† I said. â€Å"That’s done. The Obin can help us now,† I said. â€Å"The Colonial Union has asked us to continue not to offer aid or assistance to Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"That makes no sense,† I said. â€Å"We are inclined to agree,† Hickory said. â€Å"But that means that you can’t even help me,† I said. â€Å"There is a difference between you and the colony of Roanoke,† Hickory said. â€Å"The Colonial Union cannot ask us not to protect or assist you. It would violate the treaty between our peoples, and the Colonial Union would not want to do that, especially now. But the Colonial Union may choose to interpret the treaty narrowly and has. Our treaty concerns you, Zoe. To a much lesser extent it concerns your family, meaning Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan. It does not concern Roanoke colony at all.† â€Å"It does when I live here,† I said. â€Å"This colony is of a great deal of concern to me. Its people are of a great deal of concern to me. Everybody I care about in the whole universe is here. Roanoke matters to me. It should matter to you.† â€Å"We did not say it did not matter to us,† Hickory said, and I heard something in its voice I had never heard before: reproach. â€Å"Nor do we suggest it does not matter to you, for many reasons. We are telling you how the Colonial Union is asking the Obin government to view its rights under treaty. And we are telling you that our government, for its own reasons, has agreed.† â€Å"So if my dad asks for your help, you will tell him no,† I said. â€Å"We will tell him that so long as Roanoke is a Colonial Union world, we are unable to offer help.† â€Å"So, no,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are sorry, Zoe.† â€Å"I want you to give me the information your government has given you,† I said. â€Å"We will do so,† Hickory said. â€Å"But it is in our native language and file formatting, and will take a considerable amount of time for your PDA to translate.† â€Å"I don’t care,† I said. â€Å"As you wish,† Hickory said. Not too long after that I stared at the screen of my PDA and ground my teeth together as it slowly plodded through file transformations and translations. I realized it would be easier just to ask Hickory and Dickory about it all, but I wanted to see it all with my own eyes. However long it took. It took long enough that I had hardly read any of it by the time Dad and the others had made it home. â€Å"This all looks like gibberish to me,† Gretchen said, looking at the documents I was showing her on my PDA. â€Å"It’s like it was translated from monkey or something.† â€Å"Look,† I said. I pulled up a different document. â€Å"According to this, blowing up the Conclave fleet backfired. It was supposed to make the Conclave collapse and all the races start shooting at each other. Well, the Conclave is starting to collapse, but hardly any of them are actually fighting each other. They’re attacking Colonial Union worlds instead. They really messed this up.† â€Å"If you say this is what it says, I’m going to believe you,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I’m not actually finding verbs here.† I pulled up another document. â€Å"Here, this is about a Conclave leader named Nerbros Eser. He’s General Gau’s main competition for leadership of the Conclave now. Gau still doesn’t want to attack the Colonial Union directly, even though we just destroyed his fleet. He still thinks the Conclave is strong enough to keep doing what it’s been doing. But this Eser guy thinks the Conclave should just wipe us out. The Colonial Union. And especially us here on Roanoke. Just to make the point that you don’t mess with the Conclave. The two of them are fighting over control of the Conclave right now.† â€Å"Okay,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But I still don’t know what any of this means, Zoe. Speak not-hyper-ese to me. You’re losing me.† I stopped and took a breath. Gretchen was right. I’d spent most of the last day reading these documents, drinking coffee, and not sleeping; I was not at the peak of my communication skills. So I tried again. â€Å"The whole point of founding Roanoke colony was to start a war,† I said. â€Å"It looks like it worked,† Gretchen said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"It was supposed to start a war within the Conclave. Blowing up their fleet was supposed to tear the Conclave apart from the inside. It would end the threat of this huge coalition of alien races and bring things back to the way it was before, when every race was fighting every other race. We trigger a civil war, and then we sweep in while they’re all fighting and scoop up the worlds we want and come out of it all stronger than before – maybe too strong for any one race or even a small group of races to square off against. That was the plan.† â€Å"But you’re telling me it didn’t work that way,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Right,† I said. â€Å"We blew up the fleet and got the Conclave members fighting, but who they’re fighting is us. The reason we didn’t like the Conclave is that it was four hundred against one, the one being us. Well, now it’s still four hundred against one, except now no one’s listening to the one guy who was keeping them from engaging in total war against us.† â€Å"Us here on Roanoke,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Us everywhere,† I said. â€Å"The Colonial Union. Humans. Us. This is happening now,† I said. â€Å"Colonial Union worlds are being attacked. Not just the new colony worlds, the ones that usually get attacked. Even the established colonies – the ones that haven’t been attacked in decades – are getting hit. And unless General Gau gets them all back in line, these attacks are going to keep happening. They’re going to get worse.† â€Å"I think you need a new hobby,† Gretchen said, handing me back my PDA. â€Å"Your new one here is really depressing.† â€Å"I’m not trying to scare you,† I said. â€Å"I thought you would want to know about all this.† â€Å"You don’t have to tell me,† Gretchen said. â€Å"You need to tell your parents. Or my dad. Someone who actually knows what to do about all this.† â€Å"They already know,† I said. â€Å"I heard John and Jane talking about it last night after he got back from Phoenix Station. Everyone there knows the colonies are under attack. No one’s reporting it – the Colonial Union has a lockdown on the news – but everyone’s talking about it.† â€Å"What does that leave for Roanoke?† Gretchen said. â€Å"I don’t know,† I said. â€Å"But I know we don’t have a lot of pull right now.† â€Å"So we’re all going to die,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Well. Gee. Thanks, Zoe. I’m really glad to know it.† â€Å"It’s not that bad yet,† I said. â€Å"Our parents are working on it. They’ll figure it out. We’re not all going to die.† â€Å"Well, you’re not going to die, at least,† Gretchen said. â€Å"What does that mean?† I asked. â€Å"If things really go swirling, the Obin will swoop in and take you out of here,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Although if all of the Colonial Union is really under attack, I’m not sure where you’re going to end up going. But the point is, you have an escape route. The rest of us don’t.† I stared at Gretchen. â€Å"That’s incredibly unfair,† I said. â€Å"I’m not going anywhere, Gretchen.† â€Å"Why?† Gretchen said. â€Å"I’m not angry at you that you have a way out, Zoe. I’m envious. I’ve been through one attack. Just one missile got through and it didn’t even explode properly, and it still did incredible damage and killed someone I care about and everyone in his family. When they come for us for real, we don’t have a chance.† â€Å"You still have your training,† I said. â€Å"I’m not going to be able to engage in single combat with a missile, Zoe,† Gretchen said, annoyed. â€Å"Yes, if someone decides to have a landing party here, I might be able to fight them off for a while. But after what we’ve done to that Conclave fleet, do you think anyone is really going to bother? They’re just going to blow us up from the sky. You said it yourself. They want to be rid of us. And you’re the only one that has a chance of getting out of here.† â€Å"I already said I’m not going anywhere,† I said. â€Å"Jesus, Zoe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I love you, I really do, but I can’t believe you’re actually that dumb. If you have a chance to go, go. I don’t want you to die. Your mom and dad don’t want it. The Obin will hack a path through all the rest of us to keep you from dying. I think you should take the hint.† â€Å"I get the hint,† I said. â€Å"But you don’t understand. I’ve been the sole survivor, Gretchen. It’s happened to me before. Once is enough for any lifetime. I’m not going anywhere.† â€Å"Hickory and Dickory want you to leave Roanoke,† Dad said to me, after he had paged me with his PDA. Hickory and Dickory were standing in the living room with him. I was clearly coming in on some sort of negotiation between them. And it was also clearly about me. The tone of Dad’s voice was light enough that I could tell he was hoping to make some point to the Obin, and I was pretty sure I knew what the point was. â€Å"Are you and Mom coming?† I said. â€Å"No,† Dad said. This I expected. Whatever was going to happen with the colony, both John and Jane would see it through, even if it meant they would die with it. It’s what they expected of themselves as colony leaders, as former soldiers, and as human beings. â€Å"Then to hell with that,† I said. I looked at Hickory and Dickory when I said it. â€Å"Told you,† Dad said to Hickory. â€Å"You didn’t tell her to come away,† Hickory said. â€Å"Go away, Zoe,† Dad said. This was said with such a sarcastic delivery that even Hickory and Dickory couldn’t miss it. I gave a less-than-entirely-polite response to that, and then to Hickory and Dickory, and then, for good measure, to the whole idea that I was something special to the Obin. Because I was feeling saucy, and also because I was tired of the whole thing. â€Å"If you want to protect me,† I said to Hickory, â€Å"then protect this colony. Protect the people I care about.† â€Å"We cannot,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are forbidden to do so.† â€Å"Then you have a problem,† I said, â€Å"because I’m not going anywhere. And there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.† And then I left, dramatically, partly because I think that was what Dad was expecting, and partly because I was done saying what I wanted to say on the matter. Then I went to my room and waited for Dad to call me again. Because whatever was going on between him and Hickory and Dickory, it wasn’t over when I stomped out of the room. And like I said, whatever it was, was clearly about me. About ten minutes later Dad called for me again. I went back into the living room. Hickory and Dickory were gone. â€Å"Sit down, Zoe, please,† Dad said. â€Å"I need you to do something for me.† â€Å"Does it involve leaving Roanoke?† I asked. â€Å"It does,† Dad said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Zoe,† Dad said. â€Å"No,† I said again. â€Å"And I don’t understand you. Ten minutes ago you were happy to have me stand here in front of Hickory and Dickory and tell them I wasn’t going anywhere, and now you want me to leave? What did they tell you to make you change your mind?† â€Å"It’s what I told them,† Dad said. â€Å"And I haven’t changed my mind. I need you to go, Zoe.† â€Å"For what?† I said. â€Å"So I can stay alive while everyone I care about dies? You and Mom and Gretchen and Magdy? So I can be saved when Roanoke is destroyed?† â€Å"I need you to go so I can save Roanoke,† Dad said. â€Å"I don’t understand,† I said. â€Å"That’s probably because you didn’t actually let me finish before you got on your soapbox,† Dad said. â€Å"Don’t mock me,† I said. Dad sighed. â€Å"I’m not trying to mock you, Zoe. But what I really need from you right now is to be quiet so I can tell you about this. Can you do that, please? It will make things go a lot more quickly. Then if you say no, at least you’ll be saying no for the right reasons. All right?† â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"Thank you,† Dad said. â€Å"Look. Right now all of the Colonial Union is under attack because we destroyed the Conclave fleet. Every CU world has been hit. The Colonial Defense Forces are strained as it is, and it’s going to get worse. A lot worse. The Colonial Union is already making decisions about what colonies it can afford to lose when push comes to shove.† â€Å"And Roanoke is one of those,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Dad said. â€Å"Very definitely. But it’s more than that, Zoe. There was a possibility that I might have been able to ask the Obin to help us here on Roanoke. Because you were here. But the Colonial Union has told the Obin not to help us at all. They can take you from here, but they can’t help you or us defend Roanoke. The Colonial Union doesn’t want them to help us.† â€Å"Why not?† I asked. â€Å"That doesn’t make any sense.† â€Å"It doesn’t make sense if you assume the Colonial Union wants Roanoke to survive,† Dad said. â€Å"But look at it another way, Zoe. This is the first colony with colonists from the CU rather than Earth. The settlers here are from the ten most powerful and most populous Colonial Union worlds. If Roanoke is destroyed, all ten of those worlds are going to be hit hard by the loss. Roanoke will become a rallying cry for those worlds. And for the whole Colonial Union.† â€Å"You’re saying we’re worth more to the Colonial Union dead than alive,† I said. â€Å"We’re worth more as a symbol than as a colony,† Dad said. â€Å"Which is inconvenient for those of us who live here and want to stay alive. But, yes. It’s why they won’t let the Obin help us. It’s why we don’t make the cut for resources.† â€Å"You know this for sure?† I asked. â€Å"Someone told you this when you went back to Phoenix Station?† â€Å"Someone did,† Dad said. â€Å"A man named General Szilard. He was Jane’s former commanding officer. It was unofficial, but it matched up with my own internal math.† â€Å"And you trust him?† I asked. â€Å"No offense, but the Colonial Union hasn’t exactly been on the up-and-up with us lately.† â€Å"I have my issues with Szilard,† Dad said. â€Å"And so does your mom. But yes. I trust him on this. Right now he’s the only one in the whole Colonial Union I actually do trust.† â€Å"What does this have to with me leaving Roanoke?† I asked. â€Å"General Szilard told me something else when I saw him,† Dad said. â€Å"Also unofficial, but from good sources. He told me that General Gau, the Conclave leader – â€Å" â€Å"I know who he is, Dad,† I said. â€Å"I’ve been keeping up with current events.† â€Å"Sorry,† Dad said. â€Å"He said General Gau was being targeted for assassination by someone in his own close circle of advisors, and that the assassination would happen soon, probably in the next few weeks.† â€Å"Why’d he tell you this?† I asked. â€Å"So I could use it,† Dad said. â€Å"Even if the Colonial Union wanted to tell General Gau about the attempt – which it doesn’t, since it probably would like to see it succeed – there’s no reason to believe that Gau would consider it credible. The CU did just blow up his fleet. But Gau might listen to the information if it came from me, because he’s already had dealings with me.† â€Å"And you were the one who begged him not to bring his fleet to Roanoke,† I said. â€Å"Right,† Dad said. â€Å"It’s because of that we’ve been attacked as little as we have. General Gau said to me that neither he nor the Conclave would retaliate against Roanoke itself for what happened to the fleet.† â€Å"We were still attacked,† I said. â€Å"But not by the Conclave itself,† Dad said. â€Å"By someone else, testing our defenses. But if Gau is assassinated, that guarantee dies with him. And then it’s open season on Roanoke, and we’ll get hit, fast, because we’re where the Conclave had its biggest defeat. We’re a symbol for the Conclave, too. So we have to let General Gau know he’s in danger. For our own sake.† â€Å"If you tell him this, you’ll be giving information to an enemy of the Colonial Union,† I said. â€Å"You’ll be a traitor.† Dad gave me a wry grin. â€Å"Trust me, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"I’m already neck-deep in trouble.† His smile disappeared. â€Å"And yes, General Gau is an enemy of the Colonial Union. But I think he might be a friend to Roanoke. Right now, Roanoke needs all the friends it can get, wherever it can get them. The ones we used to have are turning their backs on us. We’re going out to this new one, hat in hand.† â€Å"And by we you mean me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Dad said. â€Å"I need you to deliver this message for me.† â€Å"You don’t need me to do it,† I said. â€Å"You could do it. Mom could do it. It would be better from either of you.† Dad shook his head. â€Å"Neither Jane nor I can leave Roanoke, Zoe. The Colonial Union is watching us. They don’t trust us. And even if we could, we can’t leave because we belong here with the colonists. We’re their leaders. We can’t abandon them. Whatever happens to them happens to us too. We made a promise to them and we’re going to stay and defend this colony, no matter what happens. You understand that.† I nodded. â€Å"So we can’t go. â€Å"But you can, and secretly,† Dad said. â€Å"The Obin already want to take you off Roanoke. The Colonial Union will allow it because it’s part of their treaty with the Obin, and as long as Jane and I stay here, it won’t raise an eyebrow. The Obin are technically neutral in the fight between the Conclave and the Colonial Union; an Obin ship will be able to get to General Gau’s headquarters where a ship from the Colonial Union couldn’t.† â€Å"So send Hickory and Dickory,† I said. â€Å"Or just have the Obin send a skip drone to General Gau.† â€Å"It won’t work,† Dad said. â€Å"The Obin are not going to jeopardize their relationship with the Colonial Union to pass messages for me. The only reason they’re doing this at all is because I’m agreeing to let them take you off Roanoke. I’m using the only piece of leverage I have with the Obin, Zoe. That’s you. â€Å"And there’s something else. General Gau has to know that I believe the information I’m sending him is good. That I’m not just being a pawn again in a larger Colonial Union game. I need to give him a token of my sincerity, Zoe. Something that proves that I have as much to risk in sending him this information as he has in receiving it. Even if I or Jane could go ourselves, General Gau would have no reason to trust what we say to him, because he knows both Jane and I were soldiers and are leaders. He knows we would be willing to sacrifice ourselves for our colony. But he also knows that I’m not willing to sacrifice my only daughter. And neither is Jane. â€Å"So you see, Zoe. It has to be you. No one else can do it. You’re the only one who can get to General Gau, deliver the message, and be believed. Not me, not Jane, not Hickory and Dickory. No one else. Just you. Deliver the message, and we might still find a way to save Roanoke. It’s a small chance. But right now it’s the only one we’ve got.† I sat there for a few minutes, taking in what Dad asked of me. â€Å"You know if Hickory and Dickory take me off Roanoke, they’re not going to want to bring me back,† I said, finally. â€Å"You know that.† â€Å"I’m pretty sure of it,† Dad said. â€Å"You’re asking me to leave,† I said. â€Å"You’re asking me to accept that I might not ever see any of you again. Because if General Gau won’t believe me, or if he’s killed before I can talk to him, or even if he does believe me but can’t do anything to help us, this trip won’t mean anything. All it will do is get me off Roanoke.† â€Å"If that’s all it did, Zoe, I still wouldn’t complain,† Dad said, and then quickly held up his hand, to stop me from commenting on that. â€Å"But if that’s all I thought it would do, I wouldn’t ask you to do it. I know you don’t want to leave Roanoke, Zoe. I know you don’t want to leave us or your friends. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Zoe. But you’re also old enough now to make your own decisions. If when all was said and done you wanted to stay on Roanoke to face whatever came our way, I wouldn’t try to stop you. Nor would Jane. We would be with you until the end. You know that.† â€Å"I do,† I said. â€Å"There are risks for everyone,† Dad said. â€Å"When Jane and I tell the Roanoke colony council about this – which we will do once you’re gone – I’m pretty sure they are going to kick us out as the colony leaders. When news gets back to the Colonial Union, Jane and I are almost certainly going to be arrested on charges of treason. Even if everything goes perfectly, Zoe, and General Gau accepts your message and acts on it and maybe even makes sure that Roanoke stays unmolested, we will still have to pay for our actions. Jane and I accept this. We think it’s worth it for a chance to keep Roanoke safe. The risk for you here, Zoe, is that if you do this, you might not see us or your friends again for a very long time, or at all. It’s a big risk. It’s a real risk. You have to decide whether it’s one worth taking.† I thought about this some more. â€Å"How long do I have to think about this?† I asked. â€Å"All the time you need,† Dad said. â€Å"But those assassins aren’t sitting around doing nothing.† I glanced over to where Hickory and Dickory had been. â€Å"How long do you think it will take them to get a transport here?† I asked. â€Å"Are you kidding?† Dad said. â€Å"If they didn’t send for one the second I was done talking to them, I’ll eat my hat.† â€Å"You don’t wear a hat,† I said. â€Å"I will buy a hat and eat it, then,† Dad said. â€Å"I’m going to come back,† I said. â€Å"I’m going to take this message to General Gau, and then I’m going to get back here. I’m not sure how I’m going to convince the Obin of that, but I’m going to do it. I promise you, Dad.† â€Å"Good,† Dad said. â€Å"Bring an army with you. And guns. And battle cruisers.† â€Å"Guns, cruisers, army,† I said, running down the checklist. â€Å"Anything else? I mean, as long as I’m going shopping.† â€Å"Rumor is that I might be in the market for a hat,† Dad said. â€Å"Hat, right,† I said. â€Å"Make it a jaunty hat,† he said. â€Å"I promise nothing,† I said. â€Å"Fine,† Dad said. â€Å"But if you have to choose between the hat and the army, pick the army. And make it a good one. We’re going to need it.† â€Å"Where is Gretchen?† Jane asked me. We stood outside the small Obin transport. I had already said good-bye to Dad. Hickory and Dickory waited for me inside the transport. â€Å"I didn’t tell her I was leaving,† I said. â€Å"She is going to be very upset about that,† Mom said. â€Å"I don’t intend to be away long enough for her to miss me,† I said. Mom didn’t say anything to that. â€Å"I wrote her a note,† I said, finally. â€Å"It’s scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning. I told her what I thought I could tell her about why I left. I told her to talk to you about the rest of it. So she might come by to see you.† â€Å"I’ll talk to her about it,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ll try to make her understand.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said. â€Å"How are you?† Mom asked. â€Å"I’m terrified,† I said. â€Å"I’m scared I’ll never see you or Dad or Gretchen again. I’m scared I’m going to screw this up. I’m scared that even if I don’t screw this up it won’t matter. I feel like I’m going to pass out, and I’ve felt that way since this thing landed.† Jane gave me a hug and then looked to my neck, puzzled. â€Å"You’re not taking your jade elephant pendant?† she said. â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"It’s a long story. Tell Gretchen I said for her to tell it to you. You need to know about it anyway.† â€Å"Did you lose it?† Jane asked. â€Å"It’s not lost,† I said. â€Å"It’s just not with me anymore.† â€Å"Oh,† Jane said. â€Å"I don’t need it anymore,† I said. â€Å"I know who in this world loves me, and has loved me.† â€Å"Good,† Jane said. â€Å"What I was going to tell you is that as well as remembering who loves you, you should remember who you are. And everything about who you are. And everything about what you are.† â€Å"What I am,† I said, and smirked. â€Å"It’s because of what I am that I’m leaving. What I am has been more trouble than it’s worth, if you ask me.† â€Å"That doesn’t surprise me,† Jane said. â€Å"I have to tell you, Zoe, that there have been times when I have felt sorry for you. So much of your life has been completely out of your control. You’ve lived your life under the gaze of an entire race of people, and they have made their demands on you right from the beginning. I’m always amazed you’ve stayed sane through all of it.† â€Å"Well, you know,† I said. â€Å"Good parents help.† â€Å"Thank you,† Jane said. â€Å"We tried to keep your life as normal as possible. And I think we’ve raised you well enough that I can tell you this and have you understand it: What you are has made demands of you all your life. Now it’s time to demand something back. Do you understand?† â€Å"I’m not sure,† I said. â€Å"Who you are has always had to make room for what you are,† Jane said. â€Å"You know that.† I nodded. It had. â€Å"Part of that was because you were young, and what you are is so much larger than who you are,† Jane said. â€Å"You can’t expect a normal eight-year-old or even a fourteen-year-old to understand what it means to be something like what you are. But you’re old enough now to understand it. To get an appreciation for it. To know how you can use it, for something besides trying to stay up late.† I smiled, amazed that Jane remembered me trying to use the treaty to stay up past my bedtime. â€Å"I’ve watched you in the last year,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ve seen how you interact with Hickory and Dickory. They’ve imposed a lot on you because of what you are. All that training and practicing. But you’ve also started asking more of them. All those documents you’ve had them give you.† â€Å"I didn’t know you knew about that,† I said. â€Å"I was an information officer,† Jane said. â€Å"This sort of thing is my job. My point is that you’ve become more willing to use that power. You are finally taking control of your life. What you are is starting to make room for who you are.† â€Å"It’s a start,† I said. â€Å"Keep going,† Jane said. â€Å"We need who you are, Zoe. We need you to take what you are – every part of what you are – and use it to save us. To save Roanoke. And to come back to us.† â€Å"How do I do it?† I asked. Jane smiled. â€Å"Like I said: Demand something back,† she said. â€Å"That’s unhelpfully vague,† I said. â€Å"Perhaps,† Jane said, and then kissed me on the cheek. â€Å"Or maybe I just have faith that you’re smart enough to figure it out on your own.† Mom got a hug for that. Ten minutes later I was fifteen klicks above Roanoke and climbing, heading for an Obin transport, thinking about what Jane had said. â€Å"You will find that our Obin ships travel far more quickly than your Colonial Union ships,† Hickory said. â€Å"Is that right,† I said. I wandered over to where Hickory and Dickory had placed my luggage and picked out one of the suitcases. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Far more efficient engines and better artificial gravity management. We will reach skip distance from Roanoke in a little under two days. It would take one of your ships five or six days to reach the same distance.† â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"The sooner we get to General Gau the better.† I unzipped the suitcase. â€Å"This is a very exciting moment for us,† Hickory said. â€Å"This is the first time since you have lived with Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan that you will meet other Obin in person.† â€Å"But they know all about me,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"The recordings of the last year have made their way to all Obin, both in unedited and digest form. The unedited versions will take time to process.† â€Å"I’ll bet,† I said. â€Å"Here we are.† I found what I was looking for: the stone knife, given to me by my werewolf. I had packed it quickly, when no one was looking. I was just making sure that I didn’t imagine packing it. â€Å"You brought your stone knife,† Hickory said. â€Å"I did,† I said. â€Å"I have plans for it.† â€Å"What plans?† Hickory asked. â€Å"I’ll tell you later,† I said. â€Å"But tell me, Hickory,† I said. â€Å"This ship we’re going to. Is there anyone important on it?† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Because it is the first time that you have been in the presence of other Obin since you were a child, one of the members of Obin’s governing council will be there to greet you. It very much wants to meet with you.† â€Å"Good,† I said, and glanced at the knife. â€Å"I very much want to meet with it, too.† I think I actually made Hickory nervous right then. How to cite Zoe’s Tale PART III Chapter Twenty-One, Essay examples