gatdream Corruption of the Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Corruption of the Dream in The Great Gatsby  Ã‚   The American Dream describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. What these wishes are, were expressed in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence of 1776, where it was stated: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This search for freedom and happiness actually goes back to the very beginning of American civilization, to the time of the first settlers. The first settlers were all religious refugees who were driven to the New World by persecution. To these people, America represented a new life of freedom, holding a promise of spiritual and material happiness. For those settlers who were not so religiously inclined, America was still a fairyland, a land of great possibilities. And so the first thirteen colonies came into being, amidst the religious and materialistic hopes of the first settlers. Material prosperity and progress kept pace with religious and spiritual goals because the Puritans and the Quakers alike approved of industry and material advancement. For, whereas physical pleasures were evil, hard work and achievements were regarded as indications of inner goodness. When the Eastern Seaboard, comprising the thirteen colonies, became overcrowded, the settlers began to move west. The opening of the Middle and Western States increased the sense of hope and faith. And this looking forward beyond the immediate present, this belief in the future, has become a national characteristic that may partly explain the speed of American advancement in so many areas of activities. The democratic system, first voiced in Jefferson's Declaration of Independence in 1776, may be traced to this basic attitude of hope and confidence. The American Dream, however, originally relates to a desire for spiritual and material improvement. What happened was that, from one point of few, the material aspect of the dream was too easily and too quickly achieved, with the result that it soon outpaced and even obliterated the early spiritual ideals. So there emerged a state of material well being but lacking in spiritual life or purpose. So that when Fitzgerald produced Gatsby, modeled no doubt on the writer's own faith in life, he seemed to have created a character who represented an early American in whom the Dream was still very much alive.

Ozone Layer

IntroductionWhat is Ozone?The chemical formula for ozone is O3. The molecule of ozone constitutes three atoms of oxygen. Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen and is less stable than the diatomic species O2. Ozone is highly reactive form of oxygen. Ozone in the upper layer of the atmosphere protects the ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth surface on the other hand ozone in the lower layer of the earth surface causes respiratory problems in living organisms. About 90 percent of ozone is present in the stratosphere (15 to 50 km altitude). Ozone has two vital functions. First, it is responsible for filtering out large wavelength band of ultraviolet solar radiation, radiation which would be lethal to the creatures of the earth if it arrived, the earth surface in full intensity. Second, ozone warms the upper layer of the stratosphere, which is an important part of the mechanism of the weather phenomena of the earth atmosphere. The presence of ozone in the upper atmosphere was first recogni zed by Cornu in 1879 and Hartley in 1880.Formation of ozone layerThe formation of ozone layer is photochemical mechanism. The ultraviolet rays strike the oxygen molecules splitting the oxygen molecule into two independent unstable atoms of oxygen. These unstable oxygen atoms in search of stability combine with the unbroken oxygen molecules to form less stable ozone. Since ozone is less stable, ultraviolet rays further split it yielding oxygen molecule and oxygen atom. This process forms a chain and gets repeated again and again. This is a never ending process. Ozone is a trace gas in the atmosphere. Even in the stratosphere where it is most concentrated, it forms only a few parts per million of the local atmospheric composition.Discovery of ozone holeThe Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985. A team of scientists from the British Antarctic survey reported a very larger seasonal fall in ozone values measured over their station at Halley Bay in Antarctica. Every year in Septembe r and October, ozone levels were falling significantly, by about 25 percent but sometimes by as much as 60 percent. The decline probably started around 1976. Data showed no significant changes during 1957 and 1975 but there were apparent changes from 1977 to 1984. When scientists reported the Antarctic Ozone hole and, more importantly, that the impact of ozone depletion would include increased risk of cataract and skin cancer and of reduced body immunity, the public, especially in the north, became worried.Depletion of ozone in the stratosphereThe debates point towards the oxides of nitrogen and water-vapor from the exhaust of high flying aircraft. This was followed by a widely published argument that inert chlorine containing compounds might significantly deplete stratospheric ozone. By 1985, the concerns about nitrogen oxides were largely laid to rest.The Montreal Protocol to the 1985 Vienna Convention for the protection of Ozone layer, signed on September 16, 1987 is one of the s mall numbers of international environmental agreements that have had rapid and concrete impacts on the actions of the nations and other groups responsible for the quality of environment.While the 1985 Vienna Convention only urged States to adopt measures to reduce their consumption of harmful chemicals, Parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to reduce consumption, of key Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to 50 percent of 1986 levels by 1988. Through the effort of industry, government and public interest groups, and motivated by improvements in scientific understanding, technical capability and a willingness to overcome social and economic barriers, reductions in use and phase-outs have progressed further and faster than expected while the list of controlled chemicals has expanded. At meetings in London in 1990 and Copenhagen in 1992, Parties accelerated the original reduction schedules and added the new substances to the list. Three years later, at the seventh meeting of the Parties in Vi enna, Parties agreed to phase-out methyl bromide.Incremental CostsMany actions that help protect the global environment incur incremental costs. For example, the choice of more expensive (but non-ozone-depleting) technologies and chemicals to provide a given level of refrigeration yields a global environmental benefit in the form of protection for the ozone layer in the Stratosphere. This global benefit has not been valued monetarily but had been judged implicitly to exceed the costs of phasing out ozone depleting substances (ODSs). Incremental costs are being incurred to protect global biodiversity, reduce the risk of climate change, and prevent the pollution of international waters. Benefits of protecting the global or regional environment accrue to many nations, rather than only to the country that incurs the cost of action. To minimize the global incremental costs, that is to achieve a given level of ozone-depleting substances phase out at the lowest cost to the world community. Future impactsThe negotiations concerning Ozone between 1982 and 1992 have launched and developed a new type of diplomacy, which can rightly be called global environmental diplomacy. While it is certainly true that the Montreal Protocol involved many countries with strong views on what should be done, there was always a willingness to take one step at a time. The phasing out of CFCs are could not be agreed upon in 1987, it was accepted 50 percent. The agreement to phase out methyl chloroform by 2000 was not agreed upon in London, it was accepted in 2003. Of course, countries agreed to the interim steps because they believed they could come back another time and make the step more stringent, which is what happened at every stage. But, the spirit of compromise was critical to the success of the Protocol.Likely, future demand for each ODS use was projected to the year 2010 (2015 for 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane) in the absence of any limitations imposed by the Montreal Protocol. The resulta nt unconstrained demand forecasts provided the baseline estimate of the quantities of the ODSs to be substituted if demand for products is to be fulfilled, thus maintaining the domestic benefit. Given the uncertainties associated with forecasting, especially so far into the future, the projections were only indicative of likely future trends.The future state of the ozone layer will remain still because it will be controlled not only by chlorine and bromine loading but also by the atmospheric abundance of nitrous oxide, methane, sulphate particles, carbon dioxide and water vapor and by the climate of the earth. It is essential to clarify the mechanisms potentially delaying the recovery of the ozone layer. Such work should be followed by research for predicting the future of the ozone layer, as well as risk assessments and countermeasures, taking into account the above mentioned uncertainties. It is also important to study the possible impacts of ozone layer destruction on human healt h and ecosystems.Works CitedDr. Christie Maureen. The Ozone Layer: A Philosophy of Science Perspective.Cambridge University Press (2001)Mohan Munasinghe. King Kenneth. Ozone Layer Protection: Country Incremental Costs.World Bank Publications (1995)Le Preste, Phillipe G. Reid, John D. Morehouse Thomas E. Protecting the Ozone Layer: Lessons, Models and Prospects.Springer (1998)

Roles of the Artist: Maya Lin

Artist: Maya Line There are one out of four roles that every artist could play and the one that I believe Maya Line plays is â€Å"Artists make a visual record of the people, places, and events of their time and place†. I believe that this is how I have see her portrayed in this film because all of the landmarks and monuments that she had made were all so great due to the personal factor of having the historical names and times written on them.One of the greatest accomplishments/landmarks she has made was the titian veterans memorial. She made it so simplistic yet powerful due to the great way she personalized it. She made it more personal by having all the full names written out chronologically by the year they were killed. This gave the families and the veterans more peace since everyone was recognized for what they have accomplished by serving our country. One more really great monument she had created was her civil rights memorial.That memorial showed all of the history an d moments that happened through the times of the civil rights movement and she also add it a platform where she was able to put water . The reason behind this was that she wanted people to be able to touch it and feel such a connection with It especially when the water started moving direction due to the touches it was getting. Maya Line was an artist/ architect that always wanted all of her work to have some sort of significance or personality.She Is an artist that makes a visual record of Important or significant events and adds a touch or such simplicity to where people could easily feel a connection to her work. She was not so appreciated when her design for the eternal memorial was chosen but when It was really put up everyone realized that the simplicity and chronological order Is what made people so emotionally connected / honored by It. These are the reasons why I believe that she Is an artist that makes visual records or times, places, and events of their time and place.One this I notices was such a big thing that was Inspiring a lot of the art she made was water. I believe she said It had a timelessness about It that made It so continuous and light I do believe the personal touch she adds to each piece of art she creates which to me makes her a better artist. By Jasmine 2 that she wanted people to be able to touch it and feel such a connection with it of significance or personality.She is an artist that makes a visual record of important veterans memorial was chosen but when it was really put up everyone realized that the simplicity and chronological order is what made people so emotionally connected / honored by it. These are the reasons why I believe that she is an artist this I notices was such a big thing that was inspiring a lot of the art she made was water. I believe she said it had a timelessness about it that made it so continuous