Personal Narrative of Acting in a Play Essay -- Personal Narrative Ess

Autobiography It was a normal Sunday morning, the weather was good and church had just finished. We were all having coffee and then it struck me. There were lots of people in the hall, and they were all being given a booklet. I wandered over there with a few friends to try and see what they were doing. Then I saw it. The front cover of the booklet they had. It had a weird name. At first I didn't understand. Why was it called Stanmore Scenes? I knew we were in Stanmore but I didn't realize why you would call something Stanmore Scenes. Even so it wasn't until later that I would understand more about it. That evening my mum had a phone call from her sister. This helped me to find out what she and the others had been doing earlier that day. When I found out I was extremely confused. I didn't think my Aunty could act! I didn't even think it was possible for the church I went to, to put on a play about its life. It was mad. How could they put 150 years of history into a couple of hours? Was it possible to do? Anyway none of my friends were in it so why would I want to be in it, it was mad. So my friend Sarah and I decided we would leave them to it. After that Sarah and I soon forgot about Stanmore Scenes. All until one day a few weeks later at school. We were all told about this play being put on at St. John's church. We were also told that our school, St. John's C of E middle school would be singing at it. That week there were auditions, to check we could sing, in order to join the choir that would be singing in Stanmore Scenes. All my friends had gone through the audition to join the choir for the carol service, however I didn... ...s. They were extremely long! Then Sarah popped her head out the door and we went down to wait in the vestry. Finally it was time for our special part. At the end of the play, after everyone who took part was on the stage and had finished singing. Then George Altman, my grandpa, made an announcement. He said, "Please could Janet Davis, Daphne Johnson and Pat Stevens come down to the front." When they were at the front he said, "Now could the 3 young ladies come out and give the presentation to them." So Sarah, Abby and I came out in turn with a massive bunch of flowers for all 3 of the people who made Stanmore Scenes work. After they had received the flowers we sang Laudate Dominum for the last time. When we had finished we all came off the stage and got out of our costumes for the last time. It was brilliant!

Brave New World & “Bokanovsky’s Process”

The conflict between individuality and communal identity forms a central theme of Huxley's Brave New World. From the opening page of the novel, it is clear that Huxley's satirical utopia is supported by an over-riding sense of civic authority and communal identity. The World State celebrates its law and ethical paradigms by way of sloganism and its herald: â€Å"†in a shield, the World State's motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY†; the three words in rapid succession suggest that the religious trinity of Father-Son-Holy-Ghost have been replaced by communal identification.The words seem to lead into one-another, blurring their meanings together and suggesting a cause and effect: that â€Å"community† allows for â€Å"identity† and â€Å"stability†; community in the World State, in fact, is identity and stability, (Huxley). As the novel's first extended scene gets underway, the reader begins to enter the utopian world and realizes that individuality, as recognized by contemporary real-world readers, is placed at a very low priority in the World State. The mass-production of cars and other factory-built products has been applied to human beings.Students attend a medical lecture on the â€Å"Bokanovsky's Process† which generates mass-human production: One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Progress. (Huxley) From the very beginning of life in the World State, individuality is sacrificed in the name of community and in the name of progress.Huxley's satirical inversion of the associations most commonly associated with human infants: those of possibility and uniqueness and joy and subsumed beneath his Ford-factory-utopian abstraction of babies born in labs on conveyer b elts. With this single image and scene, Huxley sets up the central dichotomy of Brave New World, the conflict between individual liberty and self-actualization and communal of State-controlled power and State mandated â€Å"happiness.† Because Huxley's intention is to critique the â€Å"inhumanity† of man, his vision of the complete eradication of individuality, by necessity, must begin at birth. The coldly biological and assembly-line imagery establishes the depth and breadth of the conflict between individuality and community identification with urgency and immediacy. To further extend the comprehensiveness of the conflict, Huxley must demonstrate the loss of individual sexual impulse and reproductive rights right along with his vision of the State run assembly-line incubators.To completely subsume individuality, it is necessary to demystify eroticism and sexual acts: sex is permitted freely in the World State although the kind of sex which is depicted is cold and un feeling and not at all what one would associate with human sexual impulse and romantic relationships as we now know them. Because human sexuality begins with self-image, Huxley's depiction of Lenina's grooming and dressing routine plays a key role in showing how individuality is eradicated by the Stare sponsored eroticism and fashion: â€Å"Lenina got out of the bath, toweled herself dry, took hold of a long flexible tube plugged into the wall[†¦] A blast of warmed air dusted her with the finest talcum powder. Eight different scents and eau-de-Cologne were laid on in little taps over the wash-basin. † Because Lenina is later revealed to harbor serious radical thoughts regarding sexuality and love, the preceding scene of her bath and dressing serves to show how her inborn beauty and natural sexuality have been obscured beneath synthetic-ism and communal homogeny, (Huxley).Lenina's desired state of sexuality is in stark conflict with the professed sexual morals of the Worl d State where past ideas about love, sex, and romance are vilified and seen as limitations to true human expression: â€Å"Family, monogamy, romance. Everywhere exclusiveness, a narrow channelling of impulse and energy†; in the new, progressive society, â€Å"every one belongs to every one else,† and there is no such thing as individual love or romance or monogamy.This inversion of sexual permissiveness — like Huxley's conflation of assembly-lines and nurseries — is an ironic technique which is meant to signal the perils of the breakdown of individuality and spontaneous :chemistry† between people. Huxley is saying, in effect, that is human individuality is sacrificed in the name of progress, then true progress will also have been sacrificed altogether. By demonstrating the grotesque nature of State sponsored Eros and State sponsored births, Huxley attacks the core-experiences of humanity and sets his satirical sights on clarifying through horror, th e grave importance of individuation in society.In response to the axiom that â€Å"everyone belongs to everyone† and thus has no personal will whatsoever, the young students in the lecture merely accept this axiom as truth: â€Å"The students nodded, emphatically agreeing with a statement which upwards of sixty-two thousand repetitions in the dark had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic, self-evident, utterly indisputable,† and with his observation, Huxley makes it clear that the stifling of individuality leads to a stifling of the mind, the imagination, and the will to discover truth as opposed to convenient but possibly corrupt or false explanations, (Huxley)If borth adn reproduction play a very large role in the fundamental elements of Huxley's satirical examination of the conflict between individuality adn community in Brave New World, the issue of death — and more specifically of grieving — play an equally important role in present ing a Utopian nightmare where the basic attributes and experiences of humanity have been paved over by homogenized experience and unemotional interpersonal relationships. A good example of this sub-theme in the novel is the scene between the Savage and the nurse in the hospital when the Savage's mother lies dying.Normal grieving is looked at as a deep weakness in the social order of the World State: â€Å"Startled by the expression of distress on his pale face, she suddenly broke off. â€Å"Why, whatever is the matter? † she asked. She was not accustomed to this kind of thing in visitors. (Not that there were many visitors anyhow: or any reason why there should be many visitors. ) â€Å"You're not feeling ill, are you? † He shook his head. â€Å"She's my mother,† he said in a scarcely audible voice. The nurse glanced at him with startled, horrified eyes; then quickly looked away. (Huxley).Huxley's novel is satirical in essence, but it is horrifying in experienc e and the strength of its visceral message about the urgency of preserving individuality is in many ways made acutely powerful by Huxley's satirical inversion of primary modes of human experience including: birth, love, sex, friendship, self-image, and even death. By demonstrating the horror of utopia through the loss of personal individuality, Huxley adroitly satirizes many of the conventions and technologies which have steadily risen as a threat in society to the sanctity of the individual.

Gun Control Vs. Gun Rights - 1099 Words

Karley Campbell Intro to Criminal Justice Reflection Paper One: Gun Control Vs. Gun Rights Whether you gather your information from the newspaper, radio, or a website, you have certainly been exposed to one of the most controversial, current debates. It seems that the media refuses to stop talking about this topic. In fact, as soon as the press over one event disappears another event seems to revive the debate. Some citizens say that we need more restrictive gun laws. Meanwhile, other Americans say that more guns are what is necessary. It’s impossible to know what the right answer is. However, we can investigate surrounding factors of the matter in order to gain a clearer understanding of the controversy. That being said, I will explain†¦show more content†¦A common phrase from this stance is the belief that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. That being said, it is justifiable to say that those who are against more gun laws feel safer and are content with concealed carry, even on college campuses. Now that the views of each side have been examined, it is important to analyze how crime models play a role in the gun debate. First, the consensus model is based off the assumption that a majority of citizens in a society share the same beliefs of right and wrong (Gaines and Miller, 2015). Second, the conflict model says that those with economic, political and social power determine the laws (Gaines and Miller, 2015). The textbook explains how, historically speaking, the consensus model has criminalized and decriminalized acts on account of social norms, such as adultery. Yet, others acknowledge that social attitudes are forever changing and that the power to change laws lies not within a community’s stance, but in the interests of powerful lawmakers. After gun massacres, the media often demonstrates a consensus model of a push for some additional regulation. On the other hand, the conflict model is demonstrated when a widely-known organization called t he National Rifle Association reaffirms their case against more restrictive gun laws.These two models matter because they are how society determines laws such as concealed carry and will facilitate the next decision.Show MoreRelatedGun Rights Vs. Gun Control856 Words   |  4 PagesGun control is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, and the debates around this topic has started many decades ago. According to the article â€Å"Gun Rights vs. Gun control† by Brianna Gurciullo, these debates are fueled by the people who defend the gun rights and the people who advocate in favor of gun control. It has been difficult to prove that gun ownership is directly related to an increase in violence due to the fact that researches tend to disagree on the impact of gun ownershipRead MoreGun Control Vs. Gun Rights968 Words   |  4 PagesGun Control vs. Gun Rights With conservatives, liberals, and moderates continuously arguing about what is right for this country or what is morally or politically correct, we are forced to find a compromised middle-ground, because it can be the difference between life and death in many unfortunate cases. Conservatives believe that The Second Amendment allows citizens the right to bear arms and protect their individual, inalienable rights. They believe that there are too many gun control laws andRead MoreGun Control vs. Gun Rights Essay8911 Words   |  36 PagesRunning Head: GUN CONTROL VS. 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With shootings and other gun related trouble happening all over our country those who create and maintain our gun laws have a big responsibility to take care of. The policy issue of gun control has both people who support the right to bear arms, while there are others who think all guns should be done away with, and this dispute should be something people care about in a legal context. When gun control is broughtRead MoreGun Rights And Gun Control994 Words   |  4 PagesIn recent times, gun control is becoming a social issue in the US after the many incidents or accident happened related to the gun owner’s kill’s people at the social places. Gun rights means the every person have right to take or carry guns for their self protection is created controversial issue related to criminal justice that needed the requirement for the gun control to stop people from killing each other. Moreover, on 2 Dec, 2015, two suspects those opened fire in a California social serviceRead More Gun Control in America Essay1426 Words   |  6 PagesGun Control in America The American Constitution and the Bill of Rights are amazing documents in their wording. Its writers showed astonishing foresight in some ways, and understanding that they could not accurately predict the future in others. These documents grant specific and vague powers to different departments of the Federal Government. The wording allows for changes to be made in its content and interpretation. One example of all these qualities, is the Second Amendment, and its interpretationRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights Of The United States1557 Words   |  7 PagesThe Bill of Rights lists certain freedoms and liberties that are guaranteed to the people of the United States of America. Because these rights are in the Constitution, they are federal laws that apply to everyone in America. To ensure there was no question as to who the Bill of Rights applied to, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868 giving anyone born in, or a citizen of, the United States the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The amendment left clauses giving some interpretationRead MorePersuasive Essay On Gun Control928 Words   |  4 Pages Gun violence has risen in America tremendously. According to the White House.com, Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed because of gun violence and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. (Office of the Press Secretary). The most recent case where a gun was used to carry out an act of violence was the Las Vegas shooting that took place on October 1st,2017. During a concert, perpetrator Stephen Paddock opened