Thursday, January 30, 2020

Rufino Blanco-Fombona Essay Example for Free

Rufino Blanco-Fombona Essay Rufino Blanco-Fombona, (b. June 17, 1874, Caracas, Venezuela—d. October 17, 1944, Buenos Aires, Argentina), Venezuelan literary historian and man of letters who played a major role in bringing the works of Latin American writers to world attention. Jailed during the early years of the dictatorship (1908–35) of Juan Vicente Gomez, Blanco-Fombona fled to Europe, where he established Editorial America in Madrid (1914), which presented Latin American writers to the European literary world. A prolific author, he wrote poetry,short stories, novels, and essays. Of Blanco-Fombona’s vast output, his literary essays are considered his best work. Two of hiscritical works, El modernismo y los poetas modernistas (1929; â€Å"Modernism and the Modernist Poets†) and Camino de imperfeccion, diario de mi vida (1906–1913) (1929; â€Å"Road of Imperfection, Diary of My Life 1906–1913†), are considered standard works on the Modernist movement in Spanish. Other important works include Letras y letrados de Hispano-America (1908; â€Å"Letters and the Learned in Latin America†) andGrandes escritores de America (1919; â€Å"Great Writers of America†). His novel, El hombre de oro (The Man of Gold), was published in 1912.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Abortion and the Columbine High School Massacre :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Abortion and the Columbine High School Massacre I am sure all of us have been affected in some way by the horrific tragedy that occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado (April 1999). Certainly, our entire country grieves at the death of the many High School teens and faculty who were victims of meaningless violence. Sadly, the bullets of two Columbine students took the lives of thirteen people away. "This tragedy is an outrage", cries the public! . . . "These teens were innocent young men, and women who had their whole lives ahead of them." . . . "They will never have the opportunity to enjoy adulthood, and the wonders of life." . . . "There must be something done to curb this violence!" These types of comments, along with many others, are surfacing in our nation, as our country cries out in disgust and frustration. "What are we to do?", we now ask of each other. I am convinced that the answer to "What are we to do?" is rooted in the current situation in our country that permits and encourages "legalized abortion". Whether we realize it or not, "legalized abortion" attributes to the great loss of "respect for life" which shows its ugly face in so many ways in our country. The shooting at Columbine High is one of these "ugly faces". Sadly, as "legalized abortion" continues, Pope John Paul II says, "There will be a darkening of our conscience, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, - especially in regard to the respect of human life". Is it a wonder that when mothers are able to freely kill innocent babies within their wombs, that others will also begin to think, "it is all right to kill innocent human beings?" Is it a wonder that when a child in a mother's womb is treated as an "object" instead of a "person", that other people in turn, will begin to treat others as "objects", using them only as a "means" to accomplish some end? "What are we to do about this violence?", cries our nation. In order to "curb violence" and protect innocent lives, our nation must come to understand that every individual is known and loved by God; that every individual has been willed by God and made in His image and likeness; that "human life" is under the special protection of God; and as a result - that every individual must be afforded the first and most fundamental of all human rights - the right to life.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Irony In Nathan The Wise Essay

Nathan the Wise is a call for reexamination among those who consider themselves as having the monopoly on truth while the rest of the world are supposedly living their lives based on false creeds. The misunderstanding among peoples or nations is rooted in this perception. Gotthold Lessing’s play sought to highlight the innate prejudices of his characters’ religious affiliations and subsequently provided a pithy reminder in the form of an irony. â€Å"Ah! Indeed you do not know how closer I shall cling to you henceforth. We must, we will be friends. Despise my nation. We did not choose a nation for ourselves. Are we our nations? What’s a nation then? Were Jews and Christians such, e’er they were men? And have I found in thee one more, to whom It is enough to be a man? (Lessing)† This was Nathan’s response to The Templar on the latter’s perception of Jews. The irony is on the second to the last sentence which implores humanity to be humane or kind to others regardless of what one believed in. Lessing is contrasting people living their lives based on religions and men who are humane kind to their fellowmen. The irony is in our supposition that our beliefs save us, guide our conduct, and teach us to be human. Yet the same precepts tend to make us biased and often cruel to those outside our fold. Indeed everyone is certain that his belief is the truth among many â€Å"lies†. Sometimes it’s this self-righteousness that makes us unjust. A paradox as pointed out by Lessing. It is ironic that a play written more than two centuries still holds true today. IRONY IN TARTUFFE Moliere parodied religiosity through his play, Tartuffe. Moliere created a very witty play of witless characters-with the exception of the servant girl, Dorine and Cleante. The irreverence of the play could explain away its banning during its time. Hypocrisy is personified by Tartuffe as credulity is personified by Orgon. There are gems of literary passages in the play that demonstrate irony. One particular instance was the interjection of Dorine to Orgon who was convincing his surprised mother about Tartuffe’s masquerade. This passage in Act V, Scene V is worth considering: â€Å"You are quite wrong, you have no right to blame him; This action only proves his good intentions. Love for his neighbour makes his virtue perfect; And knowing money is a root of evil, In Christian charity, he’d take away Whatever things may hinder your salvation. † Orgon and his family are about to be evicted from their own home by the unscrupulous Tartuffe when this particular dialogue was uttered. He was already at a loss of how Tartuffe could have done this to him. The irrepressible Dorine could not resist jabbing him verbally. To be deprived of one’s property is to be given the chance to be eternally saved since the thing that causes sin is taken away from you. The person robbing you then is in fact doing you a favor and the robbery itself is a result of good intentions. This may be a tongue-in-cheek line but the irony is apparent in the situation where the quest for religiosity has led almost to Orgon’s total material depravity. IRONY IN THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES â€Å"If any other motives than honour and virtue were necessary to induce you to persist in that character you have hitherto worthily sustained; I would tell you, that a reverse of conduct will disturb my happiness in a better world. But should (which Heaven forbid! ) this heavy misfortune be inevitable, I shall welcome death with joy, since it prevents my being witness to your disgrace (Lafayette). † These last words in the deathbed of Madame de Chartres were part of a warning to her daughter of the pitfalls of falling in love while married. Rather than prevent the Princess of Cleves falling in love, it further arouses in her the need to experience what is romantic and for her which obviously she has not found from the Prince of Cleves. Aside from this irony of a warning prodding one to fall into the pit of forbidden love, Madame de Chartres or Madame Lafayette treated us with verbal irony in the last two sentences. She indicated that if the Princess will stray from the marriage path, she will be unhappy. Still she added she might be happy in death since it will prevent her from witnessing that which would bring disgrace to her daughter. This strong admonition is quite consistent with how society looks upon extramarital dalliances. The Princess was only guilty of mental infidelity. Ironically, it was not only her who suffered but her mother, who died of a broken heart, perhaps from a daughter who ignored her; husband, who died of jealousy; the Duc Nemours who suffered emotionally; and finally the Princess herself who entered a convent. The deathbed warning is ironically not helping the Princess. It destroyed everybody. Bibliography Lessing, G. E. (n. d. ). Nathan the Wise. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from PDF Books: www. pdfbooks. co. za Moliere, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. The Project Gutenberg EBook Tartuffe. Project Gutenberg, October 26, 2008 (Posting Date). Lafayette, M. The Princess of Cleves. London: J. WILKIE, No. 71, St. PAUL’S.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Chart Analysis . Anadarko’S Stock Price Is Trending In

Chart Analysis Anadarko’s stock price is trending in the same direction as oil prices. Over the time period of 2/27 to 4/7, it appears that crude oil prices were more volatile than Anadarko’s stock price. Also, natural gas prices were also more volatile than Anadarko’s stock price. Anadarko’s portfolio is more heavily weighted toward oil because their two most prolific basins – the Delaware Basin and the DJ Basin - are more oil-weighted basins. Also, Anadarko entered 2017 with the goal to be more focused on oil. Therefore it makes sense that Anadarko’s stock price follows the crude oil stock price closely. Looking at Anadarko’s 10-K, they are not involved in hedging. As a result, their stock price could not be effected by hedging.†¦show more content†¦They are one of the largest independent producers in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. They also have high-potential basins in places such as Alaska, Algeria, Brazil, China, and other countries. In the United States, Anadarko is focused on adding reserves through horizontal drilling in the Delaware and DJ basins. Anadarko held interests in over 580,000 gross acres in the Delaware basin. They also hold over 350,000 net acres in the DJ basin. As the upturn begins for the oil and gas industry, Anadarko believes that they are well positioned to be a successful company. In 2016, they reduced their capital investments by 50% relative to 2015, while continuing to improve their efficiency and cost structure. For example, they closed an accretive acquisition of FCX s Deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets. This transaction doubled their production from the Gulf of Mexico and the expected free cash flow will help accelerate investments in Anadarko s most prolific assets of the DJ and Delaware basins. Most of Anadarko s revenue comes from their sales in the Delaware Basin and the DJ Basin. At the end of the fourth quarter in 2016, Anadarko accelerated activity with seventeen rigs in their two most prolific wells. They currently have 11 rigs in the Delaware Basin and 6 rigs in the DJ basin. Not only is Anadarko positioned to create more value as the upturn begins, but they also surpassed their sales-volume expectations. In the Delaware basin, Anadarko increased