Definition and Examples of the Plain Style in English

Definition and Examples of the Plain Style in English In rhetoric, the term plain style refers to speech or writing that is simple, direct, and straightforward. Also known as the  low style, the scientific style, the simple style, and the Senecan style. In contrast to the grand style, the plain style does not rely heavily on figurative language. The plain style is commonly associated with the matter-of-fact delivery of information, as in most  technical writing. According to Richard Lanham, the three central values of the plain style are Clarity, Brevity, and Sincerity, the C-B-S theory of prose (Analyzing Prose, 2003). That said, literary critic Hugh Kenner has characterized plain prose, the plain style as the most disorienting form of discourse yet invented (The Politics of the Plain, 1985). Observations and Examples I am glad you think my style plain . I never, in any one page or paragraph, aimed at making it anything else, or giving it any other merit- and I wish people would leave off talking about its beauty. If it has any, it is only pardonable at being unintentional. The greatest possible merit of style is, of course, to make the words absolutely disappear into the thought.(Nathaniel Hawthorne, letter to an editor, 1851) The only way to write plainly, as a worker should, would be to write like [George] Orwell. But the plain style is a middle-class accomplishment, got by arduous and educated rhetorical effects.(Frank Kermode, History and Value. Oxford University Press, 1988)The plain style . . . is completely unadorned. It is straightforward and void of any figures of speech. It is the style of much contemporary newspaper prose. Cicero thought it was best suited for teaching, and indeed, the plain style is the idiom of the best schoolbooks of our age.(Kenneth Cmiel, Democratic Eloquence: The Fight Over Popular Speech in Nineteenth-Century America. University of California Press, 1990) The Power of the Plain Style In political language, plainness is powerful. Of the people, by the people, for the people. Ask not what your country can do for you. I have a dream. This is especially so for language designed to be heard, like speeches and debate exchanges, rather than read from a page. People absorb and retain information in smaller increments through the ear than through the eye. Thus the classic intonations of every major religion have the simple, repetitive cadence also found in the best political speeches. In the beginning. And it was good. Let us pray.†(James Fallows, Who Will Win? The Atlantic, October, 2016) Cicero on the Plain Style Just as some women are said to be handsomer when unadorned- this very lack of ornament becomes them- so the plain style gives pleasure when unembellished. . . . All noticeable ornament, pearls as it were, will be excluded; not even curling irons will be used. All cosmetics, artificial white and red, will be rejected. Only elegance and neatness will remain. The language will be pure Latin, plain and clear; propriety will always be the chief aim.(Cicero, De Oratore) The Rise of the Plain Style in English At the beginning of the 17th century, the Senecan plain style enjoyed a significant and widespread boost in prestige: this came from playwrights like [Ben] Jonson, low-church divines (who equated ornate persuasion with deceit), and, above all, scientists. Francis Bacon was particularly effective in associating Senecan plainness with the aims of empiricism and inductive method: the new science demanded a prose in which as few words as possible interfered with the presentation of object reality.(David Rosen, Power, Plain English, and the Rise of Modern Poetry, Yale University Press, 2006)The Royal Societys Prescription for a Plain StyleIt will suffice my present purpose to point out what has been done by the Royal Society towards the correcting of its excesses in Natural Philosophy . . ..They have, therefore, been most rigorous in putting in execution the only Remedy that can be found for this extravagance, and that has been a constant Resolution to reject all the amplifications, digre ssions, and swellings of style: to return back to the primitive purity, and shortness, when men delivered so many things almost in an equal number of words. They have exacted from all their members, a close, naked, natural way of speaking; positive expressions, clear senses, a native easiness; bringing all things as near the Mathematical plainness as they can: and preferring the language of Artizans, Countrymen, and Merchants, before that, of Wits, or Scholars.(Thomas Sprat, The History of the Royal Society, 1667) Example of the Plain Style: Jonathan Swift [B]ecause it is idle to propose remedies before we are assured of the disease, or to be in fear till we are convinced of the danger, I shall first show in general that the nation is extremely corrupted in religion and morals; and then I will offer a short scheme for the reformation of both.As to the first, I know it is reckoned but a form of speech when divines complain of the wickedness of the age; however, I believe, upon a fair comparison with other times and countries, it would be found an undoubted truth.For, first, to deliver nothing but plain matter of fact, without exaggeration or satire, I suppose it will be granted that hardly one in a hundred among our people of quality or gentry appears to act by any principle of religion; that great numbers of them do entirely discard it, and are ready to own their disbelief of all revelation in ordinary discourse. Nor is the case much better among the vulgar, especially in great towns, where the profaneness and ignorance of handicraftsm en, small traders, servants, and the like, are to a degree very hard to be imagined greater. Then it is observed abroad that no race of mortals have so little sense of religion as the English soldiers; to confirm which, I have been often told by great officers of the army that in the whole compass of their acquaintance they could not recollect three of their profession who seemed to regard or believe one syllable of the gospel: and the same at least may be affirmed of the fleet. The consequences of all which upon the actions of men are equally manifest. They never go about as in former times to hide or palliate their vices, but expose them freely to view like any other common occurrences of life, without the least reproach from the world or themselves. . . .(Jonathan Swift, A Project for the Advancement of Religion and the Reformation of Manners, 1709) Example of the Plain Style: George Orwell Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers. I will come back to this presently, and I hope that by that time the meaning of what I have said here will have become clearer.(George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946) Hugh Kenner on the Disorienting Plain Style of Swift and Orwell Plain prose, the plain style, is the most disorienting form of discourse yet invented by man. Swift in the 18th century, George Orwell in the 20th are two of its very few masters. And both were political writers- theres a connection. . . .Plain style is a populist style and one that suited writers like Swift, Mencken, and Orwell. Homely diction is its hallmark, also one-two-three syntax, the show of candor and the artifice of seeming to be grounded outside language in what is called fact- the domain where a condemned man can be observed as he silently avoids a puddle [in Orwells A Hanging] and your prose will report the observation and no one will doubt it. Such prose simulates the words anyone who was there and awake might later have spoken spontaneously. On a written page, . . . the spontaneous can only be a contrivance. . . .The plain style feigns a candid observer. Such is its great advantage for persuading. From behind its mask of calm candor, the writer with political intention s can appeal, in seeming disinterest, to people whose pride is their no-nonsense connoisseurship of fact. And such is the trickiness of language that he may find he must deceive them to enlighten them. . . .What the masters of the plain style demonstrate is how futile is anyones hope of subduing humanity to an austere ideal. Straightness will prove crooked, the gain will be short-term, vision will be fabrication and simplicity an intricate contrivance. Likewise, no probity, no sincerity, can ever subdue the inner contradictions of speaking plainly.(Hugh Kenner, The Politics of the Plain. The New York Times, September 15, 1985)

Last Minute ACT Prep Programs

Last Minute ACT Prep Programs SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you don’t have much time left before the ACT, you may be wondering how you can maximize your scores with a short term study plan. If you’re looking for a big score improvement and you only have a few days before the test, you might not be able to reach your goal this time, but you can get a good head start towards it (and you’ll be better prepared to study harder before your next test session). But if you only need to improve by one or two points, really intense studying for a few hours could get you where you want to be, if you have some clear weaknesses you didn't know about! In this article I'll show how to create a last minute ACT study program and give last minute ACT tips to boostyour score. Time-Based Study Plans The first thing you should do is think about how many hours you can realistically devote to ACT prep in the short time you have before the test.Make sure to factor in sleep and all of your other commitments! The 5 Hour Plan If you can only fit in 5 hours of prep time between now and the ACT (and this is your first time studying), your best bet is to just take a practice test.This can help give you a little bump in your scores, especially if you don’t have much experience with the test until now.Make sure you take your practice test with realistic time constraints and with all the resources you will have on the real test (calculator, scrap paper, quiet environment). On the other hand, if you’ve already taken a bunch of practice tests, taking another one at this point probably isn’t going to do much. Instead, spend your five hours looking into mistakes you’ve made on questions in the past and planning how to avoid them. If that's too broad of a target, just focus on the section that is most difficult for you. You should also make sure you’re doing ok on time. Get a sense of how long you’re spending on questions so you know when to move on when you take the real test. On th ACT this means no more than a minute for Math questions, no more than 30 seconds for English questions, and no more than 45 seconds for Reading and Science questions. If you find yourself spending more time than this on a question, you need to skip it and move on to the next question so you don’t run out of time. You don’t want to miss easy points at the end of a section because you got stuck on a tough question! The 15 Hour Plan With fifteen hours of prep, you still have enough leeway to make significant improvements in your scores. Here's a rough idea of how you might spend your study time: Hours 0-5: Take a Practice Test Use this time to take a practice test so you can see where you stand score-wise and which questions are giving you the most trouble. Again, make sure you replicate the time constraints of the real ACT so you will know if time pressure is a problem for you. Hours 5-10: Dig Into Your Mistakes For each question you answer incorrectly, make sure you know why your choice was incorrect and how to arrive at the correct answer. You should also review questions where you had to resort to guessing (even if you got them right).There are four maincategories of mistakes on the ACT: 1. Time Crunch: You didn’t make it to the question Study Game Plan: Practice doing questions within the time constraints for the ACT so you get used to moving faster. You should be comfortable with skimming reading passages and skipping questions that are taking up too much of your time. Remember that you get a minute for Math questions, 30 seconds for English questions, and 45 seconds for Reading and Science questions. 2. Question Comprehension: You were tricked by the question or misinterpreted it Study Game Plan:Train yourself to slow down a bit and read questions more carefully. It's often helpful to write down the question in simpler form before answering to prevent yourself from getting confused. You should also practice similar questions so the format becomes more familiar to you. 3. Unfamiliar Content: You didn’t know the material covered in the question Study Game Plan: This is where a program like PrepScholar could really help you because it focuses on your weak content areas.Alternatively, find a source for lesson material on the topic you don’t understand and practice more questions that are similar. This poor guyencountered an ACT question with unfamiliar content AND entered into a cube-based alternate reality from which there is no escape. Luck was just not on his side today. 4. Silly Mistake: You should have known the correct answer, but you spaced out Study Game Plan:Work on your time management so you leave yourself time at the end of a section to go over your answers. You should also make sure you’re not going through questions faster than you need to and making careless mistakes as a result. Hours 10-15: Zero in on Your Problem Areas Now that you know the nature of your mistakes, focus on the specific test sections or types of questions where you have the most difficulty.Practice relevant questions and review any content that seems unfamiliar. You might also consider getting the PrepScholar program, which has shown a1-2 point ACT score improvement for 15 hours of use. It does your work for you by diagnosing your weak spots on the test and helping you practice questions in those areas until they become second nature. You can also use PrepScholar to study for subsequent tests if you’re planning on taking the ACT again. Some Final Advice for Last Minute Studying Here are a few overall tips for last minute ACT studying that will help you stay on track with your prep program. Make sure you know the formulas and grammar rules that you’ll need for the test The ACT does require you to know some formulas for the math section, so be sure you’re prepared.It’s also helpful to know the grammar that’s being tested so you’ll feel more confident in your answers on the English section. Analyze your mistakes on practice questions This is what’s going to help you make the most progress in the shortest amount of time.Make sure you fully understand your mistakes and know how to avoid them in the future if you come across similar questions. Check your timing As detailed in the 5 hour plan, make sure you’re not lingering on questions.Get used to how it feels to spend 30 seconds or a minute on a question so you can judge your efficiency during the real test. If you’re taking ACT with writing, come up with some examples you might use in your essay It’s really important to include concrete support for your essay argument.Try to come up with a couple of versatile examples you could incorporate into your essay so that you have something ready to go! Not an acceptable essay, no matter how much teen angst you feel. Looking Ahead If you think you will take the ACT again after this, try to plan your studying further ahead of time for the next test date.If you're looking for big point improvements, you’re probably not going to get there with a bunch of short cram sessions.Improving more than six points, for example, might take over 100 hours of prep. Here are estimates for the number of hours of studying that correspond to certain point improvements: 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ Start by figuring out your target ACT score and then determine what you’re going to need to do to get there.Take a look at these study plans to start thinking about how you might structure your time before your next shot at the ACT.Remember that last minute prep can be helpful, but it shouldn't be the only way you study! What's Next? Check out ourfast ACT prep planfor more ideas on how to make the most of last minute studying and dramatically raise your score. Are you trying to find some better study materials? Take a look at this list of the best ACT prep books of 2015. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Wikileaks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Wikileaks - Essay Example The organizational operations are designed to protect journalists, activists and whistleblowers. The term wikileaks is a combination of two terms â€Å"wiki† and â€Å"Leaks† each of which is defined separately. According to Jennings, a wiki is a server program that permits users to work together in making up the content of a website. With it, any user who is using a web browser from their own computer can edit the site including other user’s contributions (4). It uses a collaboration of many users. The contributors can view the page any time conveniently before and after changes have been made to it. According to Jennings, the term wiki comes from Hawaiian language meaning fast. From the English dictionary, the word leak is defined as permitting to escape or to flaw. The leak part of the word describes what the organization does (Times Taffn.p). Wikileaks is an organization which gathers information that governments and institutions do not want released and posts it on the internet where everyone can read it. It is a system for untraceable mass document le aking. The founding and registration of wikileaks.org domain name was done on 4th October 2006 and was launched under the sunshine press organization. The founder of wikileaks was Julian Assange who was an Australian internet activist. The wikileaks site however states that it was â€Å"founded by Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and startup company technologists from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa†. It was not until 2007 when Julian Assange was referred to as the â€Å"founder† of wikileaks. The advisory board consisted of Assange, Phillip Adams,Wang Dan, CJ Hinke, Ben Laurie, TashiNamgyalKhamsitsag, Xiao Qiang, Chico Whitaker and Wang Youcai. It started publishing leaked documents in 2007 which were significant and became leading front page news items. Since it was launched and started working, wikileaks has endured and

Bombs Bursting in Air Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bombs Bursting in Air - Assignment Example But we still hear the â€Å"bombs† going off in our lives and we are afraid or lost because of what is going on. Rather than shielding us from reality, our parents and teachers should instead help us understand why these â€Å"bombs† go off in some peoples lives and not in others. The importance of these life lessons cannot be stressed enough and just like the essay explains, our parents and other adults will no longer be able to shield us from that reality. So the question that we should ask ourselves is â€Å"how young is too young to understand lifes realities?†. In the modern age of the internet and 24/7 news media, the innocence of young people is stolen faster than parents can cover up the situations. Perhaps the time has come for parents to acknowledge that the children of today, if spoken to and explained to in a proper manner, can actually prove to be far more mature than their parents and teachers actually think they

Facades And Building Envelopes Engineering Essay

Facades And Building Envelopes Engineering Essay Facades and building envelopes, which are the external skin of a building, project the image and creative intent. They can also become important environmental moderators and key influencers in project risk and commercial success. A well designed faà §ade allows a new building to work more effectively for its owners, occupants and the environment. The faà §ade plays a crucial role in heat and light exchange as it is the interface between the exterior environment and interior space. Comfort, productivity, energy use and running costs can all be improved. http://www.arup.com/Services/Facade_engineering.aspx Double skin facades are often used in Europe to resist the cold climate however double-skin systems in Australia are relatively new. One example where the double faà §ade system is demonstrated in Australia is Sydneys 1 Bligh Street high rise. The faà §ade provides great solar control while maintaining clear views of the Sydney Harbour. 1 Bligh Street is a premium grade high-rise building offering 27 levels of office accommodation and features a double-skin, glass facade with a naturally ventilated full height atrium. Amenities include a cafe, childcare centre, shower facilities, bicycle racks and parking for 92 cars. The buildings 6 Star, Green Star rating achievement is the highest awarded in NSW and includes the maximum allowable five points for innovation in categories such as environmental design initiative and exceeding Green Star standards. The building was designed with a focus on maintaining views while providing sufficient daylight levels and solar control. Ray Brown, director of Architectus, stated that the geographic and climatic conditions at 1 Bligh Street were major influences on specification of the double skin faà §ade. BACKGROUND Owners Co-owned by DEXUS Property Group, DEXUS Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) and Cbus Property. Architects Australian Architectus and Germanys Ingenhoven who came together in 2006 for a design competition. Builders Grocon : Australias largest privately owned development and construction company. Facade Contractor Arup. Facade Consultant Enstrust. Awards 1 Bligh has received a number of awards and has been highly commended for its sustainable design, development and architecture. Awarded Best Retail/Commercial Development Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW Highly commended Office Development Australia category, Asia Pacific Property Awards (May 2011) Highly commended Office Architecture Australia category, Asia Pacific Property Awards Voted Best Tall Building 2012 for Asia and Australis by the CTBUH (Council for tall Building and Urban and Urban Habitat, IL, USA) 2012 NSW Architecture Awards Urban Design Award Sir Arthur G. Stephenson Award for commercial architecture 2012 Milo Dunphy Award for sustainable architecture DESIGN Ingenhoven produced a design allowing workers and the public to see and feel the whole of the community of the building. 1 Bligh Streets elliptical geometry effectively resolves the sites urban condition at the meeting of two city grids. The ellipse is rotated on the site to encompass views to the harbour, thus resolving the urban condition and maximising the buildings commercial value (). The disadvantage is that it is more costly to construct an elliptical building than a square building. However, this is made worthwhile by a magnificent curved atrium at the buildings core providing a sanctuary to its inhabitants. A naturally ventilated glass atrium climbs the full height of the building, providing a circulation of fresh air and a sense of openness on all floors. The glass provides dynamic views through the building making the atrium an arrival point for every floor, enhancing communication, connection and community. The buildings scale is broken in the centre by a large outdoor terrace cut into the floor plate at the lift transfer level. This space has been reserved as its reception floor, making it one of the most spectacular and unique reception of any legal firm in the city. The terrace also cleverly conceals the air intake for the air handling plant above, which is covered in a glass skin making it fully visible within the building. At the top of the building, the inner glass layer peels away, creating a large outdoor timber terrace incorporating banksia trees. This creates the buildings fifth elevation which is observed by taller surrounding buildings. ENVIRONMENTAL THERMAL STRATEGIES Cost effective and sustainable buildings have been a key focus in building design for years. Double skin faà §ade systems are becoming increasingly common in high profile buildings and are being enthused as an exemplary green building strategy. The system consists generally of exterior skins which respond dynamically to varying ambient conditions, which can incorporate a range of shading, natural ventilation, and thermal insulation strategies. The overall purpose of the double skin differs from the conventional system used in European buildings where the intention is to trap the heat by incorporating an extra thermal layer of air. The thermal skin of 1 Bligh is designed to keep the building cool. It does this by stopping direct sunlight from hitting the internal glass. Between the inner and outer glass layers, motorised venetian blinds track the sun and automatically adjust to suit. The outer glass skin incorporates fixed horizontal ventilation slots at each level of the building to encourage upward airflow within the cavity which helps to expel unwelcome hot air. This flow is driven by natural wind since Sydney rarely experiences a completely still day. This result is that the internal skin will never be exposed to air temperatures that are vastly higher than the outside ambient air temperature. The outer glass layer also acts as a weather shield to protect the blinds from severe winds. The inner layer which is double gla zed for world class thermal efficiency acts as a barrier against heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter, thus complimenting the benefits derived from the venetian blinds. http://www.architectus.com.au/sites/default/files/06_0.jpg One of the major benefits of the double skin faà §ade is that operable external blinds can be introduced which normally cant be installed on a high-rise, thus producing a shading coefficient of 0.15 with the blinds down and uninterrupted views when up. Reduced heat and optimised light is obtained as a result, underpinning high performance sustainability and unprecedented environmental innovation. It can be foreseen that double-skin faà §ade systems require more cleaning than a single-skin glass faà §ade, however the outer skin which is the only surface exposed to the elements, will only require six-monthly cleaning with minimal cleaning required on other surfaces. The cavity between the skins is less vulnerable to environmental grime, and the gantry set up will significantly improve the speed and safety of the cleaning task. SUSTAINABILITY Overall, the key sustainability innovations which have been encompassed along with the double glass faà §ade include, natural ventilation to the atrium, 40% recycled concrete, 90% recycled steel, FSC certified timber, recycled timber, solar cooling, tri-generation, black water treatment, rainwater harvesting, sewer mining. 94% of the demolished buildings materials were recycled including steel and concrete (Horiso). An advanced hybrid of VAV and chilled beam air conditioning systems are run off a series of curved solar thermal collectors. The tri-generation system uses gas and solar energy to generate cooling, heating and electricity. The black water recycling method, which is the first to be used in an office tower, reduces the overall water consumption throughout the building with some of the recycled water being used for irrigation. Recycled rain water is also used for irrigation. http://www.architectus.com.au/sites/default/files/04_1.jpg The sustainability features of 1 Bligh Street result in the lowest operating costs of a premium grade building in Sydney, equating to estimated savings of approximately $2 million per annum (Horiso). CONSTRUCTION The inner skin was constructed of high-quality, double-glazed windows, while the outer skin was constructed of single-sheet laminated glass. A 600mm cavity between the two skins provides the required space to accommodate the automated venetian blind system, as well as walkway gantries at each level of the building for access by cleaners and maintenance personnel. 1780 blinds were used in total http://www.architectus.com.au/sites/default/files/05_0.jpg The construction process took ten years to complete. Where normally one subcontractor works the building perimeter, Grocon had three to coordinate the faà §ade contractor, the waterproofers and the blinds contractor. GLASS TYPE Office buildings typically incorporate some form of tinted or reflective glazing in order to minimise the amount of direct sunlight and heat entering the building. The trade-off is a darkened or pearlescent finish that can visually isolate the occupants of the building from the natural environment and create unwanted reflectivity, particularly at night, when the inner glass can resemble a mirror. The Bligh Street glass, supplied by G. James, has a 62% Visual Light Transmission (VLT), compared to normal office glazing specifications of approximately 25 40%. In other words, onlookers will be struck by the crystal clear views into the building; meantime, the occupants will experience true-to-life panoramic views of the harbour and the citys genuine colours. This is because the sun protection is very efficient, and therefore non-tinted glass could be used on the outer skin. This makes the building extremely transparent and offers the user a different experience.   CONCLUSION In conclusion, it can be seen that building strategies such as the double faà §ade system, can be adapted to suit a specific climate while maintaining sufficient sustainability and economic properties. Similarly, glass as a building material can be used in many applications not only for aesthetic purposes but also for a thermal and sustainable strategy. 1 Bligh Street may be the beginning of an effective double glass faà §ade system which will be implemented on high-rise buildings throughout Australia.

History of Panama Canal Essay

Christopher Columbus was on his fourth voyage and he was looking for a way to China. That’s when he came across the country named Panama, which stretches only 60 miles, where he found Indians who had tons of gold. But he was looking for a way to China so he sent his brother Bartholomew to search for more gold. At first Indians were willing to lead the Spaniards to the gold, but eventually they got tired and led the Spanish back to the coast. When the Indians did this they were abused. Eventually the Indians fought back and drove of the Spanish. Balboa is one of the people who found tons of gold and sent it back to Spain, but saved a lot for himself. With his earnings he decided to Balboa decided to settle in Hispaniola as a planter. But after some time he ended up in debt and had to abandon his life as a planter. Trying to escape his creditors Balboa hid in a ship and tried to escape, from Santo Domingo to San Sebastian, and was successful. When they arrived at San Sebastian, they discovered that it had been burned to the ground. Balboa convinced the others to travel southwest with him to a spot he had seen on his earlier expedition. In 1511, Balboa founded a colony, the first European settlement in South America – the town of Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. Balboa married the daughter of Careta, the local Indian chief. Soon after, in 1513, he sailed with hundreds of Spaniards and Indians across the Gulf of Uraba to the Darien Peninsula. Balboa headed an overland expedition west through very dense rainforests. Along the way they fought many local Indians and destroyed one Indian village, killing hundreds of Indians. Balboa was the first European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. Balboa and his men then traveled to the ocean and claimed it and all the land that touched it for Spain. The building of the Panama Canal came to light during the 1530’s. As they began to transport their riches back to the Spanish homeland, they were always interested in more efficient routes. It was suggested to Spanish Ruler Charles V that Panama might serve as an ideal place to construct a water passage joining the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This would considerably cut the time it took to otherwise sail around the southern edge of South America. But wars back home put the idea on hold. In 1845 French company called the Compagnie de Panama wanted a railroad built by Colombia across Isthmus and administer it for 99 years. However in 1848 they couldn’t pay for it and lost their rights regarding the railroad. In 1848 the California gold rush occurred. This alone caused heavy traffic across the Isthmus of Panama. Later that year in December, U. S Company, the Panama railroad company negotiated a new contract with Bogota, Colombia to build the railroad across the Isthmus in 6 years. Part of the contract said that the trip would be guaranteed in less than 12 hours. The railroad was built and completed the journey in 4 ? hours. But Matthew Fontaine Maury, leading U. S. government scientist wrote to congress that the railroad Isthmus of Panama will lead to the construction of a ship canal between the two oceans, for a railroad can’t do the business which commerce will require it. Railroad was expensive it cost $250 in gold to ride the 47 miles. It cost 10-15 cents a pound to carry a passenger’s baggage. Express freight and merchandise was charged $1. 80 per cubic foot. Railroad Company made more than $7 million. This was too expensive for normal people and Maury’s words of 1849 came true as men from around the world began to arrive to build the Panama Canal. The first country to try and build the canal was France. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who supervised the Suez Canal, was interested in building the Panama Canal. He joined several French businessmen to form a private company with an impressive name: the Societe Civile Internationale du Canal Interuceanique du Darien. The societe sent Lucien Napoleon- Bon parte Wyse, grandnephew of the 1st French emperor, Napoleon Bon parte to Panama in early November 1876, to survey the site for a canal and, more important, to secure the permission of Colombia for such a project. Colombian government and Wyse had an agreement. That for an initial payment of nearly $200,000 as well as yearly rental fee, societe was granted permission to build and administer a canal for 99 year lease. Colombia gave societe a belt of land 200 meter wide across the entire width of Panama. However at the end of 99 years the canal and land would be returned to Colombia. In 1873 U. S. had conducted surveys of a potential route across Panama, but had rejected it. Wyes never did surveys, and decided to use the notes of U. S. surveys instead. After that he left Panama for home to report to Lesseps. The French plan was simple a channel across the Isthmus at sea level. They would follow a route that ran close to the existing Panama railroad. They planned to use the railroad to transport supplies and haul away the excavated dirt. Once the excavation had reached sea level the canal itself would be dug another 27 ? feet deep, and 72 feet deep at its bottom. They planned to complete the canal in 12 years. However the idea of sea level canal was impossible to achieve. Charges river valley, through which and canal would have to go through stood at an altitude of 80-100 feet above sea level. Nobody including de Lesseps ignored this problem and said it was not serious. However the French never finished the sea level canal. 1000’s of men died of malaria, yellow fever and other diseases. Eventually in 1889 the French court also declared the French canal company was bankrupt. In 1903 Panama declared its independence from Colombia and wins it with the help of U.  S. Soon the Hay- Bunau – Varilla treaty was signed which gave U. S. the right to build a canal through Panama. At this time President Roosevelt was in charge. Roosevelt wanted to build the canal to increase America’s navy power, and it made the trip from the east coast to the west coast of the U. S. much shorter than the route taken around the tip of South America. 1904, the Americans’ first year in Panama, mirrored the French disaster. The chief engineer, John Findlay Wallace, neglected to organize the effort or to develop an action plan. The food was putrid, the living conditions abysmal. Political red tape put a stranglehold on appropriations. Disease struck, and three out of four Americans booked passage home. Engineer Wallace soon followed. The Americans had poured $128 million into the swamps of Panama, to very little effect. Wallace’s replacement was John Stevens. Stevens had built the Great Northern Railroad across the Pacific Northwest. In rough territory from Canada to Mexico, he had proven his tenacity. And his new plan of action would ultimately save the canal. Stevens began work not by digging, but by cleaning. Thanks to the work of WILLIAM GORGAS, the threats of yellow fever and malaria were greatly diminished. Then on February 12, 1907, a dispirited Chief Engineer Stevens resigned, and Goethals took over as the chief engineer. Colonel George Washington Goethals, an Army engineer with experience building lock-type canals, assumed the Chief Engineer’s post. Demanding and rigidly organized, Goethals quickly picked up where Stevens left off. America had to face a couple of problems. First they had to dig at the Culebra Cut, where 100,000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock would have to be removed. The workers there made ten cents an hour — moved as much as 200 trainloads of spoil a day. When mudslides filled the Cut repeatedly, Goethals simply ordered it dug out again. There were accidents of all sorts, lost equipment, and deaths, but there was progress. The engineering problems were enormous. Because the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are at different elevations, a series of three sets of water-filled chambers, called locks, that raise and lower ships from one level to the next, had to be excavated and constructed.

Analyzing Frankenstein - Formalist Perspective.

The formalist method of literary criticism is primarily focused on the text itself, rather than external topics such as history and background, the authors biographical information, or the social contexts which surround a piece of work. In the formalist perspective, we ask ourselves, why did the author choose to write his or her work in this specific style? Why did he or she choose to include certain literary elements? What matters most to the formalist critic is how the work comes to mean what it does--how its resources of language are deployed by the writer to convey meaning (DiYanni 2076). A reader can employ the formalist method to decipher many meanings in Mary Shelleys classic text Frankenstein. Shelley uses setting,†¦show more content†¦Waltons second letter introduces the idea of loss and loneliness, as Walton complains that he has no friends with whom to share his triumphs and failures, no sensitive ear to listen to his dreams and ambitions. Walton turns to Victor a s the friend he has always wanted. His search for companionship parallels the monsters desire for a mate later in the novel. But I have one want which I have never been yet to satisfy...I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection...I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyes would reply to mine.-- (page 18). This similarity between man and monster becomes clearer as the novel progresses. It suggests that the two may not be as different as they seem. Framing helps the reader find the interrelation among the characters and come up with observations that would be concealed in other circumstances. The framing technique also makes the story more compelling because Walton will eventually see the monster at the end of the novel. The story about the creature would just be a story, if not for Waltons person al encounter with Frankenstein and his creation. Shelley uses Walton and the framing perspective to add validity to the novel. Another