Legalizition of Recreational Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legalizition of Recreational Drugs - Essay Example In fact, the Eskimos are the only people lacking tradition because they have been unfortunate to grow anything and wait for other people to bring them alcohol. The use of drug is justified in that it represents human appetite. The question of drug legalization either for medicinal or recreational value refers to whether or not people should be allowed to legally sell, buy, and use drugs for their own personal pleasure. Human beings have used psychoactive drugs as back as many centuries ago. Many drugs are produced naturally by plants and easily accessed by people in society where they grow. Therefore, recreational drugs should be legalized in society and stop criminalization of people. If recreational are not legalized, criminalizing this drugs will cause more harm than good since it will create large profitable industry which supply these drugs. In addition, it will increase level of crime in society when people try to finance habits of the users. Psychoactive drugs have been incorp orated in social events such as celebrations, religious ceremonies, and rites of passage. When discussing the issue of recreational drugs, it is sensible to talk about the harm associated with these drugs. Drugs can be taken on regular basis with no ill basis but long-term exposure and intake of drugs is harmful. Majority of people die from drug induced causes such as organ damage, heart attack, and even overdose. Apart from the self-inflicted harm, there is harm that is caused to others in society such as increased crime rate from users who cannot control their system since drugs consumed inhibits their legitimate decisions. Theft and muggings are commonly associated with addiction and women who are under the influence of drugs would engage in prostitution without their own convictions to do so. Children born in families where parents are drug user’s end up homeless while family resources are depleted. The idea of selling and using drugs has both legal and moral issues. On o ne hand, if the government legalized the use of drugs in society, we can deduce whether application of such drugs is immoral or not. If the law allows an individual to engage or do certain things, it does not mean that the person should do it. On the other hand, even if use of drugs is not morally acceptable we can question ourselves whether the use of such drugs is illegal or not. The law has many flaws in that it allows us to do many things that are immoral such as saying lies to other people. These are some of the things that people should avoid morally; we do not tolerate situations where the laws command us on how to lead private lives (Clifford 52-53). The whole purpose and motive of using recreational drugs is for pleasure that they produce to the user. Search for pleasure comes natural to us as human beings. It is human nature that people are pleasure seeking and what makes life enjoyable is in pleasure of larger variety. There are pleasures in food, drugs, or romance. This way brain chemistry is altered in manner that provides unique pleasure to our body and through this; we seek what can bring pleasures in our lives (Clifford 55). Human beings seek pleasure in moderation, whereby pursuing pleasure is morally acceptable

COMAIR Regional Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

COMAIR Regional Airlines - Case Study Example The regional airline COMAIR, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, which serves routes in the United States, Canada and Europe is poised to become very competitive and profitable in 2010. COMAIR currently has 5,800 dedicated aviation professionals and services 511 daily flights to about 77 international and domestic destinations. The COMAIR is the preferred airline of choice by most business travellers and frequent travellers as it offers affordable airfares. COMAIR has gone from strength to strength by rapidly rolling out international routes and additional services for the customers. Another important cost factor for regional airlines is the national and local taxes imposed by the US government. Most countries treat airlines like cash cows by levying national prerogatives and taxes on them that results in higher costs of doing business. Another positive trend is that inspite of the US recession, the regional airlines do offer the safest form of transportation. Although US airlines carry 3.5 million passengers annually, the accident rate is very low compared to the accident rates of motor vehicles and maritime vessels. Another interesting and positive development is that air travel has improved its safety record over time. New US airline jets have more safeguards and safety measures which help minimize untoward accidents on air and on the ground. Among the interesting market players in the US airlines industry is COMAIR. For instance, COMAIR has been effective in four general areas of operations: 1) winning customers; 2) maintaining its fleet in excellent condition; 3) close relations with its pool of human resources, 4) keeping its finances viable. In general, COMAIR's is able to grow its equity over time (McCabe, 1998)COMAIR has increased international capacity by 15 percent in 2008 to address increasing demand. (International Herald Tribune, June 4, 2008) The company has consistently upgraded its fleet on a yearly basis. As regards its salary expenses, Comair's flight attendants have approved a US$7.9 million dollars in wage cuts intended to help the company recover from its financial difficulties. Fourth, COMAIR has been able to manage its finances well. The company has managed to keep unit revenues up and unit costs down. The airlines fly all their available seats, hence, the company managers try to increase their unit revenues on a quarterly basis. The COMAIR managers understand that most of the airline's costs are fixed. Approximately ten percent of costs go to services such as airport fees and air navigation services fees. Labor costs take up an average of 38 percent in the United States. Hence, the COMAIR managers have focused on decreasing the unit cost to bring down operations cost.In addition, the managers continue to manage near-term liquidity pressures. Cash collateral posting requirements had a material impact on its unrestricted cash positions since 2008. Delta Air Lines, stated on Dec. 2, 2008 that its projected cash collateral posting requirement at Dec. 31, 2008 would be approximately US $1.1 billion dollars.In response to the situation of the parent company, C OMAIR is focused on improvements in free cash flow as the key to liquidity preservation. In addition, the company has scaled-back aircraft financing commitments and has

Minerals and How We Use Them Essay Example for Free

Minerals and How We Use Them Essay Elements combine together to form different minerals and minerals combine to form rocks. There are 92 naturally occurring elements and with exception of a few inert elements like Gold, Platinum etc. , they combine together to form as many as 4000 minerals. Out of this large number of minerals only about two dozens are common (constitutes ~ 99% of Earth crust) and these are composed of about a dozen elements. These rock forming elements can be classified in five groups – silicates, carbonates, oxides and sulfates. In following sections we will briefly describe these minerals, their formation and usage. Silicates: Silicon is the 2nd most abundant element next to oxygen on the Earth crust. It combines with oxygen to form a tetragonal compound, SiO2, which combines together to form a large tetragonal structure. Besides, SiO2 combines with other metal oxides, to form their silicates. Some examples of common silicates are Olivine, Pyroxene, Amphibole, Micas, Feldspar etc. Carbonates: Carbonates CO32- are linear molecules consisting of carbon and oxygen. These ions are arranged in the form of sheet in minerals like Calcite and Dolomite. Oxides: Metals react with oxygen to form their oxides. Some important oxide minerals are Hematite (Fe2O3), Magnetite (Fe3O4), Chromite (Cr2O3), Cassiterite (SnO2) etc. Sulfides: These are metal-sulfur compounds. Some important sulfide compounds are known as Pyrites like Chalcopyrite, Fools Gold etc. These minerals have metallic luster. Sulfates: These are composed of metal ions and sulfate ions (SO42-). These minerals have practically no ore value to the date. However, these are used as compounds. One important sulfate mineral is Gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O). Mineral Formation: Minerals form by crystallization and growth in a liquid. The liquid can be either a molten rock or an aqueous solution. When temperature of a molten rock or magma falls below freezing point of a mineral, the mineral crystallizes. Minerals do not have a sharp freezing point; instead they solidify over a range, depending on their composition. The first to solidify is the one having highest solidification point and this is Quartz, subsequently other metal silicates solidify. Minerals solidifying towards the end have lowest solidification point. Besides, minerals crystallize in aqueous solution as well. This happens when an aqueous solution having minerals at some temperature, becomes supersaturated due to change in temperature (generally cooling, but sometimes heating as well). In case of mineral precipitation from an aqueous solution, what is important is solubility and not the melting point of the mineral Properties of Mineral: Minerals are characterized by some of their unique properties like Crystal form, Hardness, Cleavage and Fracture, Color, Specific Gravity etc. crystal form of a mineral depends on the internal arrangement of the constituent atoms / ions. This leads to well developed faces of the crystal and is a very important clue of crystal identification. Hardness of a mineral depends on the bond strength of the constituent atoms / ions. It is measured on Mohs scale (1 to 10). Higher Mohs value implies higher hardness; 10 is for diamond and 1 for talc. Color: Color of a mineral depends on its chemical composition, structure and also on impurity content. This is also an important clue for mineral identification. Specific Gravity: This is a very important property of minerals and difference in specific gravity is utilized for mineral separation. Usages of Mineral: We use minerals in many different ways. These are used as such for example, sand as construction material, Limestone for making cement, Gypsum for making Plaster of Paris etc. Besides, metals, the backbone of today’s civilization, are extracted from their respective minerals. Some examples are Iron from hematite / magnetite, Copper from chalcopyrite, Uranium from uranite etc. Thus we can conclude that minerals are invaluable to us. Chapter 26: Rocks Rocks are the building block of the Earth crust. Therefore, we encounter rocks everywhere. The study of rocks is important as they give us clue of the geological past of the Earth, besides they contain in them minerals, which have great value for us. The Earth can be viewed as the churning ground for rocks, where rocks keep forming and changing their forms. Based on origin, rocks are classified in three categories – Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. In subsequent paragraphs we will discuss briefly about these rocks. Igneous Rock: These are formed by solidification of magma. Magma is molten rock, which comes out from within the Earth crust during volcanic eruptions. It is useful to know formation of magma. As we go down the Earth Crust, its temperature rises at a rate of ~ 30 oC per kilometer. Thus at a sufficient depth, temperature of the rock is well above their melting point, but the rock is still solid due to the overhead pressure by the rocks above it. But due to tectonic movements, sometimes a hot solid rock moves up where pressure is less that needed to keep it solid, and then it melts and the molten magma rises above through cracks. The rising magma further reduces the pressure on it and causes formation of more magma. Also, sometimes, water comes in contact with hot rock through some cracks and water being foreign body or impurity, reduces melting point of the rock, which melts and thus magma is produced. The magma rises up through cracks and heats and melts the rocks in the way and thus creates more magma. The rising magma cools and solidifies and thus igneous rocks are formed. If the magma comes out of Earth’s surface (it is known as Lava) and solidifies then what is formed is Extrusive Rock, an important example is Basalt, which is low silica fast moving magma. If the magma solidifies within the ground itself, then what forms is Intrusive Rock or Plutons, an example is a Dike. Sedimentary Rocks: Weathering of rocks leads to formation of smaller fragments of rocks. This process can be either mechanical or chemical. The weathered rocks erode i. e. they are transported away to a new location by carrier agents like flowing water and wind. During transportation also, these fragments collide with each other and gets smoothened. When the carrying ability of these agents weakens, these fragments settle at those locations. The process continues and new lays keep depositing. The underlying layer is compressed by the top layers and densifies and thus is formed a layered Rock structure, known as sedimentary rock. If the sediments are composed of small rock fragments, this is called Clastic, while those formed by chemical precipitation are called chemical sediments. Clastic sedimentary rocks are classified according to their constituent particle sizes. Fine seiments are clay, silt and sand and they form rocks like Mudstone Shale, Siltstone and Sandstone respectively. Coarse sediments are pebble, cobble and boulder and they form Conglomerates. Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed by precipitation from supersaturated aqueous solutions. Some examples of chemical sedimentary rocks are Limestone, Dolomite, and halites; halites are formed by evaporation of lakes or seawater. Many fossils are preserved in the sedimentary rocks and they give clues to the life in past. Metamorphic rocks When a rock mass – igneous as well as sedimentary, is brought in a region (by natural process) where temperature and or pressure is too high for existence of the rock, then is changes its form and the process is termed metamorphism (change in shape) and the resulting rock is metamorphic rock. The metamorphism can be brought about by recrystallization or mechanical deformation. Some examples of metamorphic rocks are Granite (from lime stone), Diamond (from coal or graphite), etc. Rock cycle refers to a cycle through which these rocks – igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic, keep changing into each other by the different forces of Nature. Chapter 28: Occurrence and Movement of Water Life evolved on the Earth in water (oceans) and water is essential for life. More than 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water. Therefore, it is important to understand about this precious material and its cycle. Hydrological cycle refers to the chain of processes through which water moves from different forms (ice, water and water vapor) and different reservoirs (oceans, rivers, glaciers) etc. , while its amount remains more or less constant between different forms and reservoirs. About 97% of Earth’s water is in Oceans which covers more than 70% of Earths surface. About 2% is locked in polar icecaps and glaciers and remaining less than 1% is distributed between water vapors, ground water, rivers and lakes. The process of evaporation moves water from oceans into the atmosphere as water vapor, approximately 75% of which rains back into the oceans and thus hydrological water cycle is complete for the 75% of the water vapors. Remaining 25% rains on the ground and thus the water cycle gets is prolonged. Because, the water falling on ground is distributed among ground water, river water, glaciers, lakes etc. In subsequent paragraphs we will discuss briefly about these reservoirs. Ground Water About 98. 5% of fresh waters stay beneath the ground in the pores, in the form of Ground water and soil moisture. Beneath the ground, there is a region where all the pores are filled completely with water. This region is called saturated zone. Above this zone and up to the Earth’s surface there exists unsaturated zone or a zone where the pores are partially filled with water and air. The amount of rainwater that can be absorbed as ground water depends on the nature of the soil i. e. how porous or dense it is. While porous soil absorbs more of rainwater, the dense rocks and soil absorb less of it and let remaining flow as rivers. The water table refers to the level which demarcates the saturated and unsaturated zones. The water table is not having a flat profile rather it is having a profile of its own. Therefore, water is not stationery in saturated zone; rather it flows under pressure head. The water bearing underground regions where water can flow is known as Aquifers. The flow rate of water through an Aquifer depends on hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer and the hydraulic head. The aquifers are of two types – unconstrained and constrained. In unconstrained aquifer, the sediment over the water table is permeable and allows recharge of aquifer. In confined aquifer, the aquifer is confined between impermeable rocks. In such aquifers recharge is not from directly above rather the recharge zone is in the unconfined region at a higher elevation. In such aquifers, we have Artesian wells and Artesian springs. Streams are flowing surface water like rivers. They receive water from rains as well as from melting of glacier and transport the same into oceans or sometimes into large lakes. The stream speed depends on stream gradient, stream discharge and channel geometry. The stream gradient is largest near the head and here the channel shape is generally V-shaped and stream speed is very high. As the stream proceeds towards moth, the stream gradient decreases and therefore, stream speed also decreases and the channel geometry becomes wide and shallow. Drainage basin refers to a network of streams which receives all the rain water in that geographical region and carries it to the oceans. Glaciers are large masses of ice, which move under their own weight due to plastic deformation as well as melting of ice under pressure. A glacier accumulates during winter and it ablates into water by moving down to warmer elevations, where it melts. Glaciers are the origin of the famous river basins which have water through out the year. The oceans are the largest water mass having more than 97% of water on the Earth. The average depth of oceans is 3800 meters much larger than the average height of the mainland (~800) above the mean sea level. The boundary between the continents and the oceans is called Continental margin. This consists of continental shelf (the submerged portion of the margin) and continental slope and a continental rise. Waves are produced in oceans due to the wind and these waves superimpose with each other and create different patterns.

Comparative Analysis Of Inductivism And Falsificationism Environmental Sciences Essay

Comparative Analysis Of Inductivism And Falsificationism Environmental Sciences Essay There are two major concepts that tell us about the progress of science. Both have different views that how the science has progressed and is progressing. In this essay the introduction, detail comparison and advantages of one philosophy on the other is discussed. Falsifiability is a major concept. To prove any postulate as falsifiable, there should be any observation or there should be any experiment that disagrees with the postulate. For example, there is a common thinking of all that all crows are black. To violate this thinking we will have to show any crow that is not black and is of any other color. So, by showing the any example against the existing postulate that is proved by observation or experiment, the existing postulate can be rejected and this helps to progress in science. The school of thought that terms the falsifiability as a philosophical rule is known as Falsificationism. The approach of inductivism towards the science is that the progress of science is based on the empirical observations which are expressed in the form of theories. Moreover, the observations made should be large and should be repeated under the different conditions and any of the observation should not conflict with the results. Following these criteria, the final results are considered as true and are included in the science but there is a problem with this procedure because in some cases the number of observations can be made to a large number. For example, we cannot put our hand for the many time to conclude that fire burns. Due to the requirement of large number of observations and change of conditions, the process of inductivism contributes very slowly in the progress of science. Inductivist methodology assumes that the series of true statements yield a general universal statement. For example, if we say that this bull has four legs and then we say that bull has four legs and so on and concluding from this if we make a general and universal statement that all bull has four legs. But this universal statement can be falsified by showing a bull that is having less than four legs. Some scientists believe that science is developed by using the inductive approach. Falsificationists believe that science progresses by confronting with the problems and making the making the hypothesis or solution to the problem. If the proposed solution of the problem is correct one then it does not mean that theory itself is true but we can say it an improvement to the existing theory. We cannot say that the new theory is true but it is a improvement in the existing theories. Whenever a theory or hypothesis is falsified by observation or experiment and a new theory is proposed that replaces the existing one. Thus, falsification helps to make progress in science by violating the existing theories. It is very common and known to all that eyes are used to see the world. But if we consider this observation into our account then how bats are able see at night while they are having very small eyes. This was the little problem and for the search of the appropriate solution, bats were monitored in the close room that was full of obstacles while their eyes were covered by some way. But bats still flied well. The hypothesis that bats see with their eyes is rejected after the experiment and a new question rose how bats are flying in such environment. In response to this problem, the hypothesis proposed was that bats can use their ear to fly safely. For the verification of this proposed hypothesis, bats are again allowed to fly in the room which was full of obstacles. Again bats uses to fly perfectly. Hence again, the hypothesis that bats fly well by use of their ears was rejected and question was to search that how bats can fly and it was concluded finally that bats are sensing the echo es that are reflecting back after colliding with the obstacles. Based on the echoes, decisions are made to fly well. Hence the falsification of the problem and search for the new hypothesis is devoting in the progress of science. On the other hand the inductivistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach is different than that of falsificationists. Inductivists believe that scientific knowledge is derived from given facts. They are giving a factual foundation to science. They also claim that there should be logical relationship between the theory and the observation statement that is confirming the theory and ignores the historical foundations. This result in an attitude of constantly seeking for the observations that confirms a theory more and more while in turn contributes less and less in the progress of science. Comparison of Falsificationiam and Inductivism Attribute Falsificationism Inductivism Facts and Results Recognizes that facts as well as theories are fallible. Uses Facts and results to give Science a factual and unproblematic Foundation. Seeks Only Constant Improvement in Science. For truths. Factual Basis Not a big problem Big problem Settle For progress For truth Advantages of falsificationism over inductivism : Indutivists believe that science is unproblematic but as we can see many cases where some facts after their experimental results are proved to be fallible. These facts are theory dependent. This approach where facts and theories are fallible is recognized by the falsificationists. The inductivist has to give the explanation of truth which can be a severe problem. On the other hand falsificationist works only for the constant improvement which is easy to do and does not create problem. There were no specific criteria for industivist that facts support the theories, so they had difficulty to explain such kind of circumstances. The falsificationists handle such kind of situation by conducting severe test which lead to support theories. The repetition of such test helps better to the falsificationist to support the theory which is not possible in the empirical approach where facts do not support the theory. If the experiment is carried out properly and the theory is proved to be right even after the successful performance of test, so the repetition of same experiment is not considered to be much severe. Falsificationist tests the unobservable knowledge and explores their novel consequences whereas the inductivist fails to explain that observable knowledge can ever be derived. On the whole, we can say that falsificationism has advantages over inductivism because testing a fact helps in improving a theory to its predecessor theory. Falsificationists believe that science is free of induction and in fact it is helping science for progress whereas inductivism works by seeking truth and is not contributing to progress in a rapid way.

Ghost Story of the Basement in a Haunted House :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

The Door in the Basement This story was told by a 19 year old Caucasian male. The story was related in an informal, one on one setting between classes at the University. The storyteller did not personally experience the events in the story, but he heard the story directly from the people involved in it. The telling of the story was recorded, and the following transcript is nearly verbatim, with only minor modifications for the sake of clarity: Ok, so I guess this story happened probably about fifteen years ago, maybe more than that. One of my parents’ friends had just bought a house. He and my parents’ other friend, names being Bill and Bernie, were going to the house to fix it up before Bill actually moved in. So, they’re looking around this house, and they were working on it for probably a week or two, and during the week they had noticed that there was this black door in the basement. And it had a red X mark across it. They couldn’t open the door; it had never actually been opened before as far as they knew. But it was just sort of weird and creepy, just had a really bad feeling to it, and again the door never really opened, so they didn’t think too much of it. Well, one night while they were working in the basement where the door was, Mr. Bernie had to leave to go get some extra parts or extra tools or something, so he got up and left. Mr. Bill was still working down in the basement. Well, it was maybe fifteen or twenty minutes later, and Mr. Bill was working in the basement not paying much attention to what’s going on, when he hears footsteps upstairs. So he thinks it’s Mr. Bernie coming back. He’s waiting, and the footsteps are walking around. They go into the kitchen area, they go into the living room area, and they’re just walking around. Eventually he yells up the stairs ‘Bern, what are you doing? Get down here, help me out!’ There was no reply. Mr. Bill waits for another minute or two, and still no reply, but he still hears the footsteps. So he starts to walk upstairs, ready to drag Mr. Bernie back downstairs and getting really mad at him that he’s walking around upstairs not helping hi m out while Mr. Bill’s trying to do some work downstairs.

Comparing Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

The Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job      Ã‚  Ã‚   The question of why bad things happen to good people has perplexed and angered humans throughout history. The most common remedy to ease the confusion is to discover the inflicter of the undeserved suffering and direct the anger at them: the horror felt about the Holocaust can be re-directed in the short term by transforming Adolf Hitler into Lucifer and vilifying him, and, in the long term, can be used as a healing device when it is turned into education to assure that such an atrocity is never repeated. What, however, can be done with the distasteful emotions felt about the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Surely the citizens of those two cities did not themselves directly provoke the government of the United States to deserve the horror of a nuclear attack. Can it be doubted that their sufferings were undeserved and should cause deep sorrow, regret, and anger? Yet for the citizens of the United States to confront these emotions they must also confront t he failings of their own government. A similar problem is found in two works of literature, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the book of Job found in the Tanakh. In each of these works a good man is seen to be suffering at the hand of his god; Prometheus is chained to a rock by Zeus who then sends an eagle to daily eat Prometheus' liver while Job is made destitute and brought to endure physical pain through an agreement between God~ and Satan. To examine the travails of these two men is to discover two vastly different concepts of the relationship between god and man.    The first question which must be addressed is, "Why have these men been made to suffer?" To simply say that Zeus or God is displeased is not enough, and to say that Prometheus and Job have sinned is confusing. Most Western readers approach these works with a pre-conceived notion of sin which has been born out of the Judeo-Christian theological tradition a tradition which dictates that there are specific moral rules which must be followed, and to transgress them is to sin. While this interpretation of sin may be functional for a reading of Job, it is useless for understanding Prometheus Bound. Comparing Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays The Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job      Ã‚  Ã‚   The question of why bad things happen to good people has perplexed and angered humans throughout history. The most common remedy to ease the confusion is to discover the inflicter of the undeserved suffering and direct the anger at them: the horror felt about the Holocaust can be re-directed in the short term by transforming Adolf Hitler into Lucifer and vilifying him, and, in the long term, can be used as a healing device when it is turned into education to assure that such an atrocity is never repeated. What, however, can be done with the distasteful emotions felt about the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Surely the citizens of those two cities did not themselves directly provoke the government of the United States to deserve the horror of a nuclear attack. Can it be doubted that their sufferings were undeserved and should cause deep sorrow, regret, and anger? Yet for the citizens of the United States to confront these emotions they must also confront t he failings of their own government. A similar problem is found in two works of literature, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the book of Job found in the Tanakh. In each of these works a good man is seen to be suffering at the hand of his god; Prometheus is chained to a rock by Zeus who then sends an eagle to daily eat Prometheus' liver while Job is made destitute and brought to endure physical pain through an agreement between God~ and Satan. To examine the travails of these two men is to discover two vastly different concepts of the relationship between god and man.    The first question which must be addressed is, "Why have these men been made to suffer?" To simply say that Zeus or God is displeased is not enough, and to say that Prometheus and Job have sinned is confusing. Most Western readers approach these works with a pre-conceived notion of sin which has been born out of the Judeo-Christian theological tradition a tradition which dictates that there are specific moral rules which must be followed, and to transgress them is to sin. While this interpretation of sin may be functional for a reading of Job, it is useless for understanding Prometheus Bound.

Analysis of the Book of the Dun Cow

In Walter Wangerin Jr. ‘s beast fable, The Book of the Dun Cow, two roosters have the unusual distinction of being Lords of their own manor. Webster defines a Lord as a â€Å"person having great powers and authority, a ruler or master,† where as a manor is defined as â€Å"the district over which a lord holds authority and domain† (Webster). Chauntecleer is introduced to the reader as the leader or Lord of the Coop and the ruler over the animals in the surrounding land. On the other hand, Cockatrice takes over as leader of his Coop and land after he kills his father, Senex. Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are two very different roosters who lead and rule their domain in stark contrast yet they are both labeled as Lords of the manor. Early on in the novel, Chauntecleer is portrayed as a short tempered, vain, and arrogant ruler who is not at all likeable. While he is proud and undoubtedly stubborn, he is also characterized as fair, compassionate, and just. With his noble bearing, Chauntecleer keeps a sense of order in his land and the animals' lives by crowing the canonical hours and occasional crows in his strong magnificent voice. His crows are compared to the clock of the community. Seven times a day, dutifully, with a deep sense of their importance, and by the immemorial command of the Divine, Chauntecleer crowed his canonical crows† (page 12). Crowing is his job and when he leads by his crows, the hens in his coop and the animals in his land are happy and unafraid, he is even able to make wrong things right. While Chauntecleer may be flawed as a le ader, his harem of hens and other creatures like John, Wesley Weasel, and Mundo Cani Dog see him as their protector and ruler. He protects the lives of those around him and sees that justice is carried out. As Lord he supports and protects his land and unites all his creatures whether fowl, rodent, or insect; animals large or small, wild or domestic to come join together to fight evil. East and upriver from Chauntecleer's land is another land ruled by another Lord, Cockatrice. A half rooster half serpent conceived as a result of an unnatural union of his rooster father, Senex, and the evil serpent Wyrm. Cockatrice rules his manor with threats and fear. Unlike his father, Senex, who always remembered the canonical crows to help unite his animals, Cockatrice never crows the canon. â€Å"So under him the day lost its meaning and its direction, and the animals lost any sense of time or purpose†¦ They were tired all the day long, and at night they did not sleep† (page 82). Under his evil rule, the creatures suffer from disunity, distrust, and dishonor. Cockatrice shows no concern for the animals of his land and resorts to having the Toad speak for him. He humiliates the animals a nd is an enemy to the creatures rather than a Lord. He rapes the hens and forces them to bear his children and suffer a cruel indignity. He swallows up thousands of children that hatch as Basilisk creatures and then vomits them back into the river. Rather than protect the creatures of his land, he orders his Basilisk children to kill everyone living until only he sits silently in his tree. Cockatrice leaves his land and flies west for he has no creatures to lord. By comparison, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are dominant roosters that command attention from the creatures in their communities. Likewise they are both offspring of past Lords of the Coop in their realm. Animals and creatures in their land and Coop hold a degree of fear of them. While both are able to gather their subjects together, the outcomes from these gatherings are fatally different. In contrast, the two Lords are as different as good and evil. While Chauntecleer is a strong postured, slightly scruffy, handsome rooster with noble bearing; Cockatrice is frightening and menacing with his serpent looking tail and bloody eyes. In return for his leadership and constant abiding, Chauntecleer asks only for good food, loyalty, sleep, a little color in his life, and a morning sunbath. On the other hand, Cockatrice demands total subservience from his creatures even though he shows them no respect or care. Chauntecleer rejoices and shares the pride of his three sons with his wife, Pertelote, with the creatures of the community while Cockatrice demands he have thousands of children by raping the hens to build an army of Basilisks who just by their touch cause death. As Lord of his land, Chauntecleer calls for all the creatures in his land to gather for a council so that he can prepare them for the upcoming battles with evil. In contrast, Cockatrice forbids the animals from gathering for meetings and even mere talking. Chauntecleer argues against revenge and hatred while Cockatrice is driven by this very evil. In Wangerin's novel, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice have the gift of speech; however they each individually choose their own path of good or evil, order or chaos, and eventually life or death. Not only do all of the animal creatures from Cockatrice's land perish, he too dies because of his self destructive hatred. In the land of Chauntecleer, the creatures mourn the loss of their fellow animals killed in battle; however they look to their Lord of the manor to rebuild their land so they can serve their overall purpose to be the last protection against the almighty evil, Wyrm.