Paradise Lost

Strictly following the tradition of classical epic, Milton made his Paradise Lost, a work that roused the interest of all men in all ages. We can even claim that by his creative genius, he has modified and ennobled that tradition. Though its form is classical, its content tends to be on the scriptural side. The very opening lines exhort its central theme –â€Å"Of man’s disobedience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The bone of contention between the critics of all ages is about whom the hero of this epic is –God, Satan or Adam. Undoubtedly we are forced to say that a good number of passages, especially in the first two books of Paradise Lost, give a heroic stature to Satan, the major among the fallen angels. Gradual diminution of Satan’s glory and grandeur is an integral part of Milton’s epic-design. The Satan of Books I and II is a creature of such dynamic energy and colorful splendor that many of the epic’s readers are tempted to consider him as the hero of the poem. That Milton did not so regard him and that, in rejecting the Satan of the earlier part of the epic, Milton was not being false to his poetic self, is clear from Satan’s opening soliloquy in Book IV, at least the first ten lines of which were written before Books I and II. In this and subsequent soliloquies Milton is able to present the character of Satan more fully and in a partly dramatic form, by placing him in a situation which denies him an outlet for his rhetoric and invites introspective self-examination. Milton, no doubt, intended Satan – at least in the early books – to be representative of the old heroic values which were to be superseded by ‘the better fortitude of patience and heroic martyrdom’. Unfortunately for Milton, readers of Paradise Lost have not been able to shake off the heroic qualities of Satan in the first two books. Along with that, three other factors contributed to the result. In English, the word ‘hero’ has the meaning of a ‘central figure’, and this Satan is definitely in these early books. Milton was strong and fresh creatively when he characterized Satan in these early books; and he never succeeded in producing a rival hero of similar stature but opposed ideals. Milton lavished all his power, all his skill, and the greater part of his sympathy on the splendid figure of Satan. Many critics have agreed to the fact that the epic value of the whole epic is centered in the achievements and characterization of Satan. His unyielding agony represents the insightful antinomy of the modern consciousness. Satan expresses, as no other character in the epic does, something in which Milton believed strongly, that is, heroic energy. It is through Satan that Milton’s own heroic energy has been so powerfully shown forth. This is expressed through conflict and endurance. The odds are against him, he has to wage war against the Omnipotent, but still he persists and struggles, and wins our profoundest admiration and sympathy. No doubt, his energy is unreasoning, no doubt it is devoted to his wicked passion for revenge, and certainly he is carried away by hate and envy, but still we cannot help admiring him for the heroic energy with which he persistently struggles against heavy odds to achieve his aims. Milton’s Satan is not a comic or grotesque figure like the Devil or Vice of medieval writers or the demons of other epic poets. Being a principal figure of an epic, if a certain amount of grotesqueness was drawn in the character of Satan, it would have definitely impaired the dignity of the poem. Many predecessors of Milton have done the same but in this respect too Milton was daringly original. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that by attempting at proving himself ‘self-begotten’, Satan‘s behavior tends to the comic and contradictory. Moreover, only a fool would pit himself against omnipotence and thus invite certain disaster. But Milton’s Satan is neither a fool nor a clown. He definitely has the beauty of sublimity and the grandeur and majesty and dignity of bearing. The poet drives home this nobility and greatness of his bearing in wonderfully mentored fine passages which can be hailed as the best among those that have been ever written. The following passage confirms the point: â€Å"†¦Black it stood as Night, Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell, And shook a dreadful dart, what seemed his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on. Satan was now at hand, and from his seat The monster moving onward came as fast With horrid strides: Hell trembled as he strode. †(II 495-501) Courteously and fearlessly Satan addresses himself to the monarch of the nethermost abyss. His speech contains no threats; he asks for guidance in his quest; and, with politic fore-thought, promises that quest, if successful, shall restore an outlying lost province to Chaos. In the war on the plains of Heaven, Satan ranges up and down the fighting line, like Cromwell; he fortifies his comrades to endurance, and encourages them to attack. In Hell he stands like a tower: â€Å"His form had yet not lost All its original brightness, nor appeared Less than Archangel ruined, and the excess Of glory obscured†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I (591-4) In his contests with Michael in heaven and with Gabriel on earth, he never falls below himself: â€Å"If I must contend†, said he, â€Å"Best with the best – the sender, not the sent; Or all at once. † IV (851-3) His followers are devotedly attached to him; they admire him ‘that for the general safety he despised his own’; and the only scene of rejoicing recorded in the annals of Hell, before the Fall of Man, is at the dissolution of Stygian Council, when the devils come forth â€Å"rejoicing in their matchless chief†. The allure of free will is where the attractiveness and power of Satan's character lies. Satan may be quite useless when it comes to fighting the ten thousand thunders of Christ's fury, but in his will he is free and in his mind he is supreme: ‘What though the field be lost? | All is not lost; the unconquerable will' (I. 105). † (Zen g, Nicholas http://www. christs. cam. ac. uk/darknessvisible/about_us/nicholas_zeng. html) As if to set purpose to raise Satan high above the heads of other archangels, Milton devises a pair of similar scenes in Heaven and in Hell. In the one Satan takes upon himself the unknown dangers of the enterprise that has been approved by the assembly. In the other, which occurs in the very next book, the Heavenly powers are addressed from the Throne, and asked – â€Å"Which of ye will be mortal, to redeem Man’s mortal crime, and just, the unjust to save? III (214-5) None in heaven is ready to take the risk; but Satan takes upon himself the dangerous task of traveling through Chaos and seducing Man. There is no doubt in the fact that Satan’s over-mastering passions are hate, ambition and desire for revenge, but he is not presented as a monster of wickedness or an unredeemed villain. Milton has skillfully humanized his character. Hence, though Satan in the enemy of God and Man alike, he is not entirely devoid of gentler characteristics. He is deeply remorseful at the thought of the ruin in which he has involved his followers and this remorse actually brings tears to his eyes. In the second book, we see him showing forth a noble sense of the duty of self-sacrifice incumbent on him owing to his position as king of hell, by sacrificing his own safety for the general cause and as a result, undertaking alone the difficult enterprise which daunted the courage of the mightiest of his followers. This trait of Satan’s character is maintained in the later books. We see him twice melted with compassion seeing the harmless innocence of Adam and Eve whose ruin he is plotting in book IV (389. 462-66). These softer feelings are to be seen as only occasional touches introduced to relieve the grandeur of a character essentially terrible, a character who is, though not totally devoid of gentle traits, on the whole most like a mighty tempest, or an avalanche, or any other force of nature that is a harmonious blending of beauty of sublimity and immense destructive power. With due sympathy and dramatic power, Satan’s character has been drawn which further revealed Milton’s proud spirit of independence and superiority to the utmost. Satan is certainly a self-portrait, a rebel against tyranny and injustice like Milton himself. The sentiment which he expresses – ‘courage never to submit or yield’; â€Å"better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven’, raises his stature to that of an epic hero. Satan is such a magnificently drawn character and such is the fascination he has exercised on the readers of the great epic of all times, paradise lost, that ever since Dryden has christened Satan as ‘Milton’s hero’, critic after critic has taken him to be the hero of the epic. There is no doubt that he dominates Books I and II of the epic in which he towers head and shoulders above his followers, but after that there is a progressive degradation and shrinkage in his character. His gradual loss of physical brightness is accompanied by a corresponding deterioration of character. The audience, however, does find someplace to invest its sympathy, and that place is in the character of Satan. The audience first sees Satan waking in Hell where he and the other fallen angels despair. Through his despair, however, Satan claims, â€Å"All is not lost — the unconquerable will,// And study of revenge, immortal hate,// And courage never to submit or yield — . . . That glory never shall his wrath or might// Extort from me† (I. 104- 111). † (http://www. essortment. com/all/satanparadisel_rsng. htm) It is by his own will that he becomes a serpent in Book IX. In Book X, he is a serpent whenever he wants to wear its garb. This degradation that is progressive is drawn home most effectively. His beginning is shown as fighting for liberty, however it is misconceived. But very soon his stature goes down as he starts fighting for â€Å"Honour, Dominion, glorie, and renounce’. But it is seen that he is defeated in this in no time. Then he resorts to the great plotting that forms the essence of the epic – the ruining of two creatures that are in no way harmful to him, but this is not at all keeping in front a serious expectation of triumph, but only to annoy the enemy who is beyond his reach for a direct encounter. This makes him stoop to the level of a spy coming into the universe, that too as a low level spy who peeps into the privacy of a man and wife, and it is there that he is described for the first time as ‘Devil’, not the fallen Archangel nor the dreaded emperor of Hell. If we take into account not merely Books I and II, but the epic as a whole, Satan cannot be regarded as the hero. As he is carried away by his passion for revenge, envy and hatred, to use ‘guile’ and cunning to achieve his end, Satan is the villain of the piece and not the hero. Closely woven with the story of the fall of man is the story of the fall of Satan and his followers. Their fall also bears out that the theme of the epic is the victory of passion over reason and its terrible consequence. Satan falls not because he is a lesser being, but due to his giving priority to passion over reason. He is proud and is carried away by inordinate ambition and lust for power. He claims absolute equality, foolishly imagines that he is self-created, regards god’s rule as tyrannous, rebels against him and is consequently overthrown and hurled into hell. He is the very embodiment of unrestrained passions which ultimately bring no satisfaction. Debates are still going on about the fact that Satan is such a driving force within the great epic. It ranges from William Blake’s comment that Milton â€Å"wrote in fetters when wrote of Angels and God, and at liberty when of Devils and Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it† (Black 2007, p. 996) to the plea that this poem is nothing more than a christian tale in which milton is unsuccessful in portraying what he intended to do. (Marshal 1961, p. 19) Paradise Lost Strictly following the tradition of classical epic, Milton made his Paradise Lost, a work that roused the interest of all men in all ages. We can even claim that by his creative genius, he has modified and ennobled that tradition. Though its form is classical, its content tends to be on the scriptural side. The very opening lines exhort its central theme –â€Å"Of man’s disobedience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The bone of contention between the critics of all ages is about whom the hero of this epic is –God, Satan or Adam. Undoubtedly we are forced to say that a good number of passages, especially in the first two books of Paradise Lost, give a heroic stature to Satan, the major among the fallen angels. Gradual diminution of Satan’s glory and grandeur is an integral part of Milton’s epic-design. The Satan of Books I and II is a creature of such dynamic energy and colorful splendor that many of the epic’s readers are tempted to consider him as the hero of the poem. That Milton did not so regard him and that, in rejecting the Satan of the earlier part of the epic, Milton was not being false to his poetic self, is clear from Satan’s opening soliloquy in Book IV, at least the first ten lines of which were written before Books I and II. In this and subsequent soliloquies Milton is able to present the character of Satan more fully and in a partly dramatic form, by placing him in a situation which denies him an outlet for his rhetoric and invites introspective self-examination. Milton, no doubt, intended Satan – at least in the early books – to be representative of the old heroic values which were to be superseded by ‘the better fortitude of patience and heroic martyrdom’. Unfortunately for Milton, readers of Paradise Lost have not been able to shake off the heroic qualities of Satan in the first two books. Along with that, three other factors contributed to the result. In English, the word ‘hero’ has the meaning of a ‘central figure’, and this Satan is definitely in these early books. Milton was strong and fresh creatively when he characterized Satan in these early books; and he never succeeded in producing a rival hero of similar stature but opposed ideals. Milton lavished all his power, all his skill, and the greater part of his sympathy on the splendid figure of Satan. Many critics have agreed to the fact that the epic value of the whole epic is centered in the achievements and characterization of Satan. His unyielding agony represents the insightful antinomy of the modern consciousness. Satan expresses, as no other character in the epic does, something in which Milton believed strongly, that is, heroic energy. It is through Satan that Milton’s own heroic energy has been so powerfully shown forth. This is expressed through conflict and endurance. The odds are against him, he has to wage war against the Omnipotent, but still he persists and struggles, and wins our profoundest admiration and sympathy. No doubt, his energy is unreasoning, no doubt it is devoted to his wicked passion for revenge, and certainly he is carried away by hate and envy, but still we cannot help admiring him for the heroic energy with which he persistently struggles against heavy odds to achieve his aims. Milton’s Satan is not a comic or grotesque figure like the Devil or Vice of medieval writers or the demons of other epic poets. Being a principal figure of an epic, if a certain amount of grotesqueness was drawn in the character of Satan, it would have definitely impaired the dignity of the poem. Many predecessors of Milton have done the same but in this respect too Milton was daringly original. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that by attempting at proving himself ‘self-begotten’, Satan‘s behavior tends to the comic and contradictory. Moreover, only a fool would pit himself against omnipotence and thus invite certain disaster. But Milton’s Satan is neither a fool nor a clown. He definitely has the beauty of sublimity and the grandeur and majesty and dignity of bearing. The poet drives home this nobility and greatness of his bearing in wonderfully mentored fine passages which can be hailed as the best among those that have been ever written. The following passage confirms the point: â€Å"†¦Black it stood as Night, Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell, And shook a dreadful dart, what seemed his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on. Satan was now at hand, and from his seat The monster moving onward came as fast With horrid strides: Hell trembled as he strode. †(II 495-501) Courteously and fearlessly Satan addresses himself to the monarch of the nethermost abyss. His speech contains no threats; he asks for guidance in his quest; and, with politic fore-thought, promises that quest, if successful, shall restore an outlying lost province to Chaos. In the war on the plains of Heaven, Satan ranges up and down the fighting line, like Cromwell; he fortifies his comrades to endurance, and encourages them to attack. In Hell he stands like a tower: â€Å"His form had yet not lost All its original brightness, nor appeared Less than Archangel ruined, and the excess Of glory obscured†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I (591-4) In his contests with Michael in heaven and with Gabriel on earth, he never falls below himself: â€Å"If I must contend†, said he, â€Å"Best with the best – the sender, not the sent; Or all at once. † IV (851-3) His followers are devotedly attached to him; they admire him ‘that for the general safety he despised his own’; and the only scene of rejoicing recorded in the annals of Hell, before the Fall of Man, is at the dissolution of Stygian Council, when the devils come forth â€Å"rejoicing in their matchless chief†. The allure of free will is where the attractiveness and power of Satan's character lies. Satan may be quite useless when it comes to fighting the ten thousand thunders of Christ's fury, but in his will he is free and in his mind he is supreme: ‘What though the field be lost? | All is not lost; the unconquerable will' (I. 105). † (Zen g, Nicholas http://www. christs. cam. ac. uk/darknessvisible/about_us/nicholas_zeng. html) As if to set purpose to raise Satan high above the heads of other archangels, Milton devises a pair of similar scenes in Heaven and in Hell. In the one Satan takes upon himself the unknown dangers of the enterprise that has been approved by the assembly. In the other, which occurs in the very next book, the Heavenly powers are addressed from the Throne, and asked – â€Å"Which of ye will be mortal, to redeem Man’s mortal crime, and just, the unjust to save? III (214-5) None in heaven is ready to take the risk; but Satan takes upon himself the dangerous task of traveling through Chaos and seducing Man. There is no doubt in the fact that Satan’s over-mastering passions are hate, ambition and desire for revenge, but he is not presented as a monster of wickedness or an unredeemed villain. Milton has skillfully humanized his character. Hence, though Satan in the enemy of God and Man alike, he is not entirely devoid of gentler characteristics. He is deeply remorseful at the thought of the ruin in which he has involved his followers and this remorse actually brings tears to his eyes. In the second book, we see him showing forth a noble sense of the duty of self-sacrifice incumbent on him owing to his position as king of hell, by sacrificing his own safety for the general cause and as a result, undertaking alone the difficult enterprise which daunted the courage of the mightiest of his followers. This trait of Satan’s character is maintained in the later books. We see him twice melted with compassion seeing the harmless innocence of Adam and Eve whose ruin he is plotting in book IV (389. 462-66). These softer feelings are to be seen as only occasional touches introduced to relieve the grandeur of a character essentially terrible, a character who is, though not totally devoid of gentle traits, on the whole most like a mighty tempest, or an avalanche, or any other force of nature that is a harmonious blending of beauty of sublimity and immense destructive power. With due sympathy and dramatic power, Satan’s character has been drawn which further revealed Milton’s proud spirit of independence and superiority to the utmost. Satan is certainly a self-portrait, a rebel against tyranny and injustice like Milton himself. The sentiment which he expresses – ‘courage never to submit or yield’; â€Å"better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven’, raises his stature to that of an epic hero. Satan is such a magnificently drawn character and such is the fascination he has exercised on the readers of the great epic of all times, paradise lost, that ever since Dryden has christened Satan as ‘Milton’s hero’, critic after critic has taken him to be the hero of the epic. There is no doubt that he dominates Books I and II of the epic in which he towers head and shoulders above his followers, but after that there is a progressive degradation and shrinkage in his character. His gradual loss of physical brightness is accompanied by a corresponding deterioration of character. The audience, however, does find someplace to invest its sympathy, and that place is in the character of Satan. The audience first sees Satan waking in Hell where he and the other fallen angels despair. Through his despair, however, Satan claims, â€Å"All is not lost — the unconquerable will,// And study of revenge, immortal hate,// And courage never to submit or yield — . . . That glory never shall his wrath or might// Extort from me† (I. 104- 111). † (http://www. essortment. com/all/satanparadisel_rsng. htm) It is by his own will that he becomes a serpent in Book IX. In Book X, he is a serpent whenever he wants to wear its garb. This degradation that is progressive is drawn home most effectively. His beginning is shown as fighting for liberty, however it is misconceived. But very soon his stature goes down as he starts fighting for â€Å"Honour, Dominion, glorie, and renounce’. But it is seen that he is defeated in this in no time. Then he resorts to the great plotting that forms the essence of the epic – the ruining of two creatures that are in no way harmful to him, but this is not at all keeping in front a serious expectation of triumph, but only to annoy the enemy who is beyond his reach for a direct encounter. This makes him stoop to the level of a spy coming into the universe, that too as a low level spy who peeps into the privacy of a man and wife, and it is there that he is described for the first time as ‘Devil’, not the fallen Archangel nor the dreaded emperor of Hell. If we take into account not merely Books I and II, but the epic as a whole, Satan cannot be regarded as the hero. As he is carried away by his passion for revenge, envy and hatred, to use ‘guile’ and cunning to achieve his end, Satan is the villain of the piece and not the hero. Closely woven with the story of the fall of man is the story of the fall of Satan and his followers. Their fall also bears out that the theme of the epic is the victory of passion over reason and its terrible consequence. Satan falls not because he is a lesser being, but due to his giving priority to passion over reason. He is proud and is carried away by inordinate ambition and lust for power. He claims absolute equality, foolishly imagines that he is self-created, regards god’s rule as tyrannous, rebels against him and is consequently overthrown and hurled into hell. He is the very embodiment of unrestrained passions which ultimately bring no satisfaction. Debates are still going on about the fact that Satan is such a driving force within the great epic. It ranges from William Blake’s comment that Milton â€Å"wrote in fetters when wrote of Angels and God, and at liberty when of Devils and Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it† (Black 2007, p. 996) to the plea that this poem is nothing more than a christian tale in which milton is unsuccessful in portraying what he intended to do. (Marshal 1961, p. 19)

The Controversy Of The Salem Witch Trials - 1380 Words

Colonial Massachusetts in the late 1600s was very complex. The small colony consisted of mainly puritans, who had come to escape from the Church of England. Puritans believed that those chosen by God to be saved — the elect — would experience conversion. In this process, God would reveal to the individual His grace, and the person would know he was saved. One of the many issues within the society was religion. A very big problem that would cause a lot of tension and problems later on was witchcraft. The Salem witchcraft hysteria started because of personal jealousies, it targeted those who went against puritan beliefs, and it was an explanation of all the weird things happening. The events which led to the Witch Trials actually occurred in what is now the town of Danvers, then a parish of Salem Town, known as Salem Village. Launching the hysteria was the bizarre, seemingly inexplicable behavior of two young girls; the daughter, Betty, and the niece, Abigail Williams, of the Salem Village minister, Reverend Samuel Parris. The trouble began when two young girls asked the slave, Tituba to help them know their fortunes. They used an old trick of suspending an egg-white in a glass of water to find this out. Over several months, the girls began to exhibit strange behavior, which soon spread to other girls in the town. The girls, under pressure from Reverend Parris, identified two local white women and the slave Tituba as the witches who were causing them pain. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Controversy Of The Salem Witch Trials Essay1548 Words   |  7 PagesStates of America. The Salem Witch Trials have been sensationalized as of late, becoming a popular show, and an event that many movies have been made of. Without doing the proper research, one would think that the trials were more violent than it became. There were no witches burning at the stake, or daily hangings, or drownings, but people of the time were frightened nonetheless. The acts of just a few ke y people drove a whole town to hysteria, and fear. Throughout the trials over a hundred peopleRead MoreThe Controversy Of The Salem Witch Trials Essay1555 Words   |  7 Pages The Salem Witch Trials have been sensationalized as of late, becoming a highly popular television show, and an event that many movies have been loosely based upon. Without doing the proper research, one would think that the trials were more violent than they became. There were no witches burning at the stake, or daily hangings, or drownings, but people of the time were frightened nonetheless. The acts of just a few key people drove a whole town to hysteria and fear. Throughout the trials over aRead MoreThe Controversy Of The Salem Witch Trials Essay1557 Words   |  7 Pagesan outbreak of hysteria began in Salem, Massachusetts. 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Life Changing Moments - 700 Words

Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what youre going to get. (Forrest Gump). Experiences received throughout life are random at best and not knowing which delectable treats are sweet, I brace myself for what may turn out to be life-changing. From these bitter and sweet occurrences, my life constantly reshapes the way I interpret and react to similar situations that arise. Life altering events change my behavior due to the outcome of decisions made, opportunities missed and phone calls received. My trust in salesmen was destroyed after making a decision to buy a used car. Shortly after purchasing a pre-owned Subaru WRX the sound children playing with metal pans came blaring from underneath my car hood. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road with a quick turn of the steering wheel. Calling triple AAA, I had my car towed to the closest auto shop deemed (by an operator located in another state) professional enough to fix my car. The tow truck dropped me off at a little blue-collar auto shop painted bright yellow. I was welcomed by a man that had rough sandpaper hands, stunk of motor oil, and wore a name tag that read Jeff. The mechanic’s silver tongue roused my belief in his ability to take care of me and after what felt like days the oily mechanic returned with his findings. Well Mr. Lovato Jeff said, â€Å"You have a lemon on your hands because the motor is bad.† In that moment, I decided to always be skeptical of the truth as a consequence of aShow MoreRelatedLife Changing Moment1013 Words   |  5 PagesLife Changing Moment Ever since I can remember I spent almost ever y day at my Grandparents house. They live right down the road from my family and me, and that is how they got the title â€Å"Grandma and Grandpa down the road†. They lived in a small house three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a small living room with a fire place that can worm the coldest heart. 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Persuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying - 925 Words

the World Wide Mind and to be able to use it to sense others only when the individual is willing. This would reserve the right to privacy that every individual has. As society hits a golden age of technology, everything is going digital. Classes could be taken online. There s no more need for people to go into the classroom. Paper copies are a good back up source but most people save a draft onto different sources instead. With everything becoming accessible by the computer, crime is evolving. Children went from bullying other kids at the playground to cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is the sending and taunting of other via the Internet. More advanced levels of cyber crime continue to rise. Cyber bullying is considered to be one of the†¦show more content†¦This contagious form of transferable anger could lead to an evolution of crime. When one’s whereabouts are always known, criminals could literally sense out those who are alone and vulnerable. They would be able to sneak up and harm their victims in whichever way they felt like. Though with the complete alertness of the World Wide Mind, the perpetrator could be found easily, it would not stop the fact that committing crimes were made easier. In addition to this, a different form of crime would rise. In the 21st century, the beginning of hacking computers has started. I believe that with the invention of the World Wide Mind, hackers won t just be able to hack into a system, but they would be able to hack into a human mind. Who knows what type of damage the criminals could do. They could potentially control the person’s brain and at the worst, send a virus via the World Wide Mind that acts as a plague infecting and potentially killing those who have the World Wide Mind installed into their brains. The police are trying to find a way to combat the ri se of cyber criminals by turning to events such as hackathons (Police Turn to Hackathons as Crime Fighting Goes Digital). 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Since being bullied online follows victims home, they have nowhere to feel safe anymore, and that can lead to obtaining mental,Read MorePersuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying719 Words   |  3 PagesTeens who are bullied often experience negative physical and mental health issues, which I faced in elementary school up until my first year of high school. As a six-year-old, I never imagined I would be a victim of bullying. I confronted tough obstacles, but for the most part, I was able to subdue these trials, and now I have grown to be the strong-willed individual I am today. It emerged in an after school program where I was ridiculed because of the clothes I wore or how my mom decided to styleRead MorePersuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying1453 Words   |  6 PagesTake a Stand Against Cyber-bullying Imagine someone you love and care about is being bullied and no one took a stand in defending or uplifting them. This horrific form of bullying takes place all around the nation through the use of cellphones, computers, and social media, that generates fear and doubt among individuals that do not have the confidence to speak up for themselves. School officials should take a stand for kids who are victims of cyber-bullying and for those who are too frightened toRead MorePersuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying754 Words   |  4 Pagesnow does not emphasize enough how critical bullying has now become. Throughout the past several years many kids have been bullied. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year, and it’s sad to say that 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying. Even if the statistics might be low it still doesn’t mean that it is not a serious problem that needs to be addressed in better ways. First off, how critical do we take bullying? According to CDC suicide is the third leadingRead MorePersuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying747 Words   |  3 Pagesthat students should not be limited to what they have to say online because it does not affect most students and teachers, it’s not very disruptive, and free speech is a sacred right. Though bullying is a big problem in the world today, it does not affect most students or teachers. The percentage of bullying amongst students isn’t very high. Girls are more likely to be bullied. 25% of girls reported being a victim of cyberbullying and 17% of boys reported being cyberbullied (Document A). 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The federal government needs to give same sex couples the same health benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Currently, the government offers employees benefits such as healthRead MoreThe Cause and Effect Essay (Report)2046 Words   |  9 Pagesrequirement in Teaching Writing Submitted by: Constantino, Jen Marini M. Darasin, Eunice C. III-9 BSE English Submitted to: Prof. Ali Anudin February 8, 2013 CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY Definition Cause and effect essay explores why things happen (cause) and what happens as a result (effects). This essay gives reasons and explanations for behaviors, events, or circumstances. *Cause – a reason for an action or condition *Effect – a result or outcome * Causal chain / Domino effect - isRead MoreE Commerce : A Global Commercial Environment940 Words   |  4 Pagesenvironment excluding net servers which will incorporate vast investments. Another challenge e-commerce organizations have to deal with is the safeguarding of security or privacy on online transactions. Small firms like Thread.com are prone to cyber bullying where hackers may want to access customer data or valuable financial information. Also,the internet isn’t cheap and gaining access to it in remote areas is always an issue making it inconvenient for potential customers. The main elements

The Lost Symbol Chapter 90-92 Free Essays

CHAPTER 90 In the dim light of the Cathedral College kitchen, Langdon and Katherine stood over the pot of water and stared at the transformed capstone beneath the surface. On the side of the golden capstone, an incandescent message was glowing. Langdon read the shining text, scarcely able to believe his eyes. We will write a custom essay sample on The Lost Symbol Chapter 90-92 or any similar topic only for you Order Now He knew the pyramid was rumored to reveal a specific location . . . but he had never imagined that the location would be quite this specific. Eight Franklin Square â€Å"A street address,† he whispered, stunned. Katherine looked equally amazed. â€Å"I don’t know what’s there, do you?† Langdon shook his head. He knew Franklin Square was one of the older sections of Washington, but he wasn’t familiar with the address. He looked at the tip of the capstone, and read downward, taking in the entire text. The secret hides within The Order Eight Franklin Square Is there some kind of Order on Franklin Square? Is there a building that hides the opening to a deep spiral staircase? Whether or not there was actually something buried at that address, Langdon had no idea. The important issue at this point was that he and Katherine had deciphered the pyramid and now possessed the information required to negotiate Peter’s release. And not a moment too soon. The glowing arms on Langdon’s Mickey Mouse watch indicated that they had less than ten minutes to spare. â€Å"Make the call,† Katherine said, motioning to a phone on the wall in the kitchen. â€Å"Now!† The sudden arrival of this moment startled Langdon, and he found himself hesitating. â€Å"Are we sure about this?† â€Å"I most certainly am.† â€Å"I’m not telling him anything until we know Peter is safe.† â€Å"Of course not. You remember the number, right?† Langdon nodded and made his way over to the kitchen phone. He lifted the receiver and dialed the man’s cell-phone number. Katherine came over and placed her head next to his so she could listen in. As the line began to ring, Langdon prepared himself for the eerie whisper of the man who had tricked him earlier tonight. Finally, the call connected. There was no greeting, though. No voice. Only the sound of breathing at the other end. Langdon waited and then finally spoke. â€Å"I have the information you want, but if you want it, you’ll have to give us Peter.† â€Å"Who is this?† a woman’s voice replied. Langdon jumped. â€Å"Robert Langdon,† he said reflexively. â€Å"Who are you?† For an instant he thought he must have dialed incorrectly. â€Å"Your name is Langdon?† The woman sounded surprised. â€Å"There’s someone here asking for you.† What? â€Å"I’m sorry, who is this?† â€Å"Officer Paige Montgomery with Preferred Security.† Her voice seemed shaky. â€Å"Maybe you can help us with this. About an hour ago, my partner responded to a 911 call in Kalorama Heights . . . a possible hostage situation. I lost all contact with her, and so I called backup and came to check the residence. We found my partner dead in the backyard. The home owner was gone, and so we broke in. A cell phone was ringing on the hall table, and I–† â€Å"You’re inside?† Langdon demanded. â€Å"Yes, and the 911 tip . . . was a good one,† the woman stammered. â€Å"Sorry if I sound rattled, but my partner’s dead, and we found a man being held here against his will. He’s in bad shape, and we’re working on him now. He’s been asking for two people–one named Langdon and one named Katherine.† â€Å"That’s my brother!† Katherine blurted into the receiver, pressing her head closer to Langdon’s. â€Å"I made the 911 call! Is he okay?!† â€Å"Actually, ma’am, he’s . . .† The woman’s voice cracked. â€Å"He’s in bad shape. He’s missing his right hand . . .† â€Å"Please,† Katherine urged. â€Å"I want to talk to him!† â€Å"They’re working on him at the moment. He’s in and out of consciousness. If you’re anywhere in the area, you should get over here. He obviously wants to see you.† â€Å"We’re about six minutes away!† Katherine said. â€Å"Then I suggest you hurry.† There was a muffled noise in the background, and the woman then returned to the line. â€Å"Sorry, it looks like I’m needed. I’ll speak to you when you arrive.† The line went dead. CHAPTER 91 Inside Cathedral College, Langdon and Katherine bounded up the basement stairs and hurried down a darkened hallway looking for a front exit. No longer did they hear the sounds of helicopter blades overhead, and Langdon felt hopeful they could slip out unseen and find their way up to Kalorama Heights to see Peter. They found him. He’s alive. Thirty seconds earlier, when they’d hung up with the female security guard, Katherine had hurriedly hoisted the steaming pyramid and capstone out of the water. The pyramid was still dripping when she lowered it into Langdon’s leather bag. Now he could feel the heat radiating through the leather. Excitement over Peter’s discovery had temporarily trumped any further reflection on the capstone’s glowing message–Eight Franklin Square– but there would be time for that once they got to Peter. As they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Katherine stopped short and pointed into a sitting room across the hall. Through the bay window, Langdon could see a sleek black helicopter sitting silent on the lawn. A lone pilot stood beside it, facing away from them and talking on his radio. There was also a black Escalade with tinted windows parked nearby. Staying in the shadows, Langdon and Katherine moved into the sitting room, and peered out the window to see if they could see the rest of the field team. Thankfully, the huge lawn outside the National Cathedral was empty. â€Å"They must be inside the cathedral,† Langdon said. â€Å"They’re not,† a deep voice said behind them. Langdon and Katherine wheeled around to see who had spoken. In the doorway of the sitting room, two black-clad figures aimed laser-sighted rifles at them. Langdon could see a glowing red dot dancing on his chest. â€Å"Nice to see you again, Professor,† said a familiar raspy voice. The agents parted, and the tiny form of Director Sato sliced effortlessly through, crossing the sitting room and stopping directly in front of Langdon. â€Å"You’ve made some exceedingly poor choices tonight.† â€Å"The police found Peter Solomon,† Langdon declared forcefully. â€Å"He’s in bad shape, but he’ll live. It’s over.† If Sato was surprised Peter had been found, she did not show it. Her eyes were unflinching as she walked to Langdon and stopped only inches away. â€Å"Professor, I can assure you, this is nowhere near over. And if the police are now involved, it has only become more serious. As I told you earlier this evening, this is an extremely delicate situation. You never should have run away with that pyramid.† â€Å"Ma’am,† Katherine blurted, â€Å"I need to see my brother. You can have the pyramid, but you must let–â€Å" â€Å"I must?† Sato demanded, spinning to Katherine. â€Å"Ms. Solomon, I assume?† She stared at Katherine with fire in her eyes and then turned back to Langdon. â€Å"Put the leather bag on the table.† Langdon glanced down at the pair of laser sights on his chest. He set the leather bag on the coffee table. An agent approached cautiously, unzipped the bag, and pulled the two sides apart. A little puff of trapped steam billowed up out of the bag. He aimed his light inside, stared for a long, puzzled moment, and then nodded to Sato. Sato walked over and peered into the bag. The wet pyramid and capstone glistened in the beam of the flashlight. Sato crouched down, looking very closely at the golden capstone, which Langdon realized she had only seen in X-ray. â€Å"The inscription,† Sato demanded. â€Å"Does it mean anything to you? `The secret hides within The Order’?† â€Å"We’re not sure, ma’am.† â€Å"Why is the pyramid steaming hot?† â€Å"We submerged it in boiling water,† Katherine said without hesitation. â€Å"It was part of the process of deciphering the code. We’ll tell you everything, but please let us go see my brother. He’s been through–â€Å" â€Å"You boiled the pyramid?† Sato demanded. â€Å"Turn off the flashlight,† Katherine said. â€Å"Look at the capstone. You can probably still see.† The agent flicked off his light, and Sato knelt down before the capstone. Even from where Langdon was standing, he could see that the text on the capstone was still glowing slightly. â€Å"Eight Franklin Square?† Sato said, sounding amazed. â€Å"Yes, ma’am. That text was written with an incandescent lacquer or something. The thirty-third degree was actually–â€Å" â€Å"And the address?† Sato demanded. â€Å"Is this what this guy wants?† â€Å"Yes,† Langdon said. â€Å"He believes the pyramid is a map that will tell him the location of a great treasure–the key to unlocking the Ancient Mysteries.† Sato looked again at the capstone, her expression one of disbelief. â€Å"Tell me,† she said, fear creeping into her voice, â€Å"have you contacted this man yet? Have you already given him this address?† â€Å"We tried.† Langdon explained what had happened when they called the man’s cell phone. Sato listened, running her tongue over her yellow teeth as he spoke. Despite looking ready to erupt with anger over the situation, she turned to one of her agents and spoke in a restrained whisper. â€Å"Send him in. He’s in the SUV.† The agent nodded and spoke into his transceiver. â€Å"Send who in?† Langdon said. â€Å"The only person who has any hope of fixing the goddamn mess you made!† â€Å"What mess?† Langdon fired back. â€Å"Now that Peter is safe, everything is–â€Å" â€Å"For Christ’s sake!† Sato exploded. â€Å"This is not about Peter! I tried to tell you that at the Capitol Building, Professor, but you chose to work against me rather than with me! Now you’ve made an ungodly mess! When you destroyed your cell phone, which, by the way, we were tracking, you cut off your communication with this man. And this address you uncovered–whatever the hell it is–this address was our one chance to catch this lunatic. I needed you to play his game, to provide him with this address so we would know where the hell to catch him!† Before Langdon could reply, Sato directed the remainder of her wrath at Katherine. â€Å"And you, Ms. Solomon! You knew where this maniac lived? Why didn’t you tell me? You sent a rent-a-cop to this man’s house? Don’t you see you’ve ruined any chance we had of catching him there? I’m glad your brother is safe, but let me tell you this, we are facing a crisis tonight whose ramifications far outreach your family. They will be felt all around the world. The man who took your brother has enormous power, and we need to catch him immediately.† As she finished her tirade, the tall, elegant silhouette of Warren Bellamy emerged from the shadows and stepped into the sitting room. He looked rumpled, bruised, and shaken . . . like he’d been through hell. â€Å"Warren!† Langdon stood up. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"No,† he replied. â€Å"Not really.† â€Å"Did you hear? Peter is safe!† Bellamy nodded, looking dazed, as if nothing mattered anymore. â€Å"Yes, I just heard your conversation. I’m glad.† â€Å"Warren, what the hell is going on?† Sato intervened. â€Å"You boys can catch up in a minute. Right now, Mr. Bellamy is going to reach out to this lunatic and communicate with him. Just like he’s been doing all night.† Langdon felt lost. â€Å"Bellamy hasn’t been communicating with this guy tonight! This guy doesn’t even know Bellamy is involved!† Sato turned to Bellamy and raised her eyebrows. Bellamy sighed. â€Å"Robert, I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you this evening.† Langdon could only stare. â€Å"I thought I was doing the right thing . . .† Bellamy said, looking frightened. â€Å"Well,† Sato said, â€Å"now you will do the right thing . . . and we’d all better pray to God it works.† As if to substantiate Sato’s portentous tone, the mantel clock began chiming the hour. Sato took out a Ziploc bag of items and tossed it to Bellamy. â€Å"Here’s your stuff. Does your cell phone take photos?† â€Å"Yes, ma’am.† â€Å"Good. Hold up the capstone.† The message Mal’akh had just received was from his contact–Warren Bellamy–the Mason he had sent to the Capitol Building earlier tonight to assist Robert Langdon. Bellamy, like Langdon, wanted Peter Solomon back alive and had assured Mal’akh he would help Langdon acquire and decipher the pyramid. All night, Mal’akh had been receiving e-mail updates, which had been automatically forwarded to his cell phone. This should be interesting, Mal’akh thought, opening the message. From: Warren Bellamy got separated from langdon but finally have info you demanded. proof attached. call for missing piece. –wb –one attachment (jpeg)– Call for missing piece? Mal’akh wondered, opening the attachment. The attachment was a photo. When Mal’akh saw it, he gasped out loud, and he could feel his heart start pounding with excitement. He was looking at a close-up of a tiny golden pyramid. The legendary capstone! The ornate engraving on the face carried a promising message: The secret hides within The Order. Beneath the inscription, Mal’akh now saw something that stunned him. The capstone seemed to be glowing. In disbelief, he stared at the faintly radiant text and realized that the legend was literally true: The Masonic Pyramid transforms itself to reveal its secret to the worthy. How this magical transformation had occurred, Mal’akh had no idea, and he didn’t care. The glowing text was clearly pointing to a specific location in D.C., exactly as prophesied. Franklin Square. Unfortunately, the photo of the capstone also included Warren Bellamy’s index finger, which was strategically positioned on the capstone to block out a critical piece of information. The secret hides within The Order Franklin Square Call for missing piece. Mal’akh now understood Bellamy’s meaning. The Architect of the Capitol had been cooperative all night, but now he had chosen to play a very dangerous game. CHAPTER 92 Beneath the watchful gaze of several armed CIA agents, Langdon, Katherine, and Bellamy waited with Sato in the Cathedral College sitting room. On the coffee table before them, Langdon’s leather bag was still open, the golden capstone peeking out the top. The words Eight Franklin Square had now faded away, leaving no evidence that they had ever existed. Katherine had pleaded with Sato to let her go see her brother, but Sato had simply shaken her head, eyes fixed on Bellamy’s cell phone. It sat on the coffee table and had yet to ring. Why didn’t Bellamy just tell me the truth? Langdon wondered. Apparently, the Architect had been in contact with Peter’s captor all night, reassuring him that Langdon was making progress deciphering the pyramid. It was a bluff, an attempt to buy time for Peter. In fact, Bellamy was doing all he could to interfere with anyone who threatened to unveil the pyramid’s secret. Now, however, it seemed that Bellamy had switched sides. He and Sato were now prepared to risk the pyramid’s secret in hopes of catching this man. â€Å"Take your hands off me!† shouted an elderly voice in the hall. â€Å"I’m blind, not inept! I know my way through the college!† Dean Galloway was still protesting loudly as a CIA agent manhandled him into the sitting room and forced him into one of the chairs. â€Å"Who’s here?† Galloway demanded, his blank eyes staring dead ahead. â€Å"It sounds like a lot of you. How many do you need to detain an old man? Really now!† â€Å"There are seven of us,† Sato declared. â€Å"Including Robert Langdon, Katherine Solomon, and your Masonic brother Warren Bellamy.† Galloway slumped, all his bluster gone. â€Å"We’re okay,† Langdon said. â€Å"And we just heard that Peter is safe. He’s in bad shape, but the police are with him.† â€Å"Thank heavens,† Galloway said. â€Å"And the–â€Å" A loud rattling caused everyone in the room to jump. It was Bellamy’s cell phone vibrating against the coffee table. Everyone fell silent. â€Å"Okay, Mr. Bellamy,† Sato said. â€Å"Don’t blow it. You know the stakes.† Bellamy took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he reached down and pressed the speakerphone button to connect the call. â€Å"Bellamy here,† he said, speaking loudly toward the phone on the coffee table. The voice that crackled back through the speaker was familiar, an airy whisper. It sounded like he was calling from a hands-free speakerphone inside a car. â€Å"It’s past midnight, Mr. Bellamy. I was about to put Peter out of his misery.† There was an uneasy silence in the room. â€Å"Let me talk to him.† â€Å"Impossible,† the man replied. â€Å"We’re driving. He’s tied up in the trunk.† Langdon and Katherine exchanged looks and then began shaking their heads at everyone. He’s bluffing! He no longer has Peter! Sato motioned for Bellamy to keep pressing. â€Å"I want proof that Peter’s alive,† Bellamy said. â€Å"I’m not giving you the rest of–â€Å" â€Å"Your Worshipful Master needs a doctor. Don’t waste time with negotiations. Tell me the street number on Franklin Square, and I’ll bring Peter to you there.† â€Å"I told you, I want–â€Å" â€Å"Now!† the man exploded. â€Å"Or I will pull over and Peter Solomon dies this instant!† â€Å"You listen to me,† Bellamy said forcefully. â€Å"If you want the rest of the address, you’ll play by my rules. Meet me at Franklin Square. Once you deliver Peter alive, I’ll tell you the number of the building.† â€Å"How do I know you won’t bring the authorities?† â€Å"Because I can’t risk double-crossing you. Peter’s life is not the only card you hold. I know what’s really at stake tonight.† â€Å"You do realize,† the man on the phone said, â€Å"that if I sense so much as a hint of anyone other than you at Franklin Square, I will keep driving, and you will never find even a trace of Peter Solomon. And of course . . . that will be the least of your worries.† â€Å"I’ll come alone,† Bellamy replied somberly. â€Å"When you turn over Peter, I’ll give you everything you need.† â€Å"Center of the square,† the man said. â€Å"It will take me at least twenty minutes to get there. I suggest you wait for me as long as it takes.† The line went dead. Instantly, the room sprang to life. Sato began shouting orders. Several field agents grabbed their radios and headed for the door. â€Å"Move! Move!† In the chaos, Langdon looked to Bellamy for some kind of explanation as to what was actually going on tonight, but the older man was already being hurried out the door. â€Å"I need to see my brother!† Katherine shouted. â€Å"You have to let us go!† Sato walked over to Katherine. â€Å"I don’t have to do anything, Ms. Solomon. Is that clear?† Katherine stood her ground and looked desperately into Sato’s small eyes. â€Å"Ms. Solomon, my top priority is apprehending the man at Franklin Square, and you will sit here with one of my men until I accomplish that task. Then, and only then, will we deal with your brother.† â€Å"You’re missing the point,† Katherine said. â€Å"I know exactly where this man lives! It’s literally five minutes up the road in Kalorama Heights, and there will be evidence there that will help you! Besides, you said you want to keep this quiet. Who knows what Peter will start telling the authorities once he’s stabilized.† Sato pursed her lips, apparently registering Katherine’s point. Outside, the chopper blades began winding up. Sato frowned and then turned to one of her men. â€Å"Hartmann, you take the Escalade. Transport Ms. Solomon and Mr. Langdon to Kalorama Heights. Peter Solomon is not to speak to anyone. Is that understood?† â€Å"Yes, ma’am,† the agent said. â€Å"Call me when you get there. Tell me what you find. And don’t let these two out of your sight.† Agent Hartmann gave a quick nod, pulled out the Escalade keys, and headed for the door. Katherine was right behind him. Sato turned to Langdon. â€Å"I’ll see you shortly, Professor. I know you think I’m the enemy, but I can assure you that’s not the case. Get to Peter at once. This isn’t over yet.† Off to one side of Langdon, Dean Galloway was sitting quietly at the coffee table. His hands had found the stone pyramid, which was still sitting in Langdon’s open leather bag on the table in front of him. The old man was running his hands over the stone’s warm surface. Langdon said, â€Å"Father, are you coming to see Peter?† â€Å"I’d just slow you down.† Galloway removed his hands from the bag and zipped it up around the pyramid. â€Å"I’ll stay right here and pray for Peter’s recovery. We can all speak later. But when you show Peter the pyramid, would you please tell him something for me?† â€Å"Of course.† Langdon hoisted the bag onto his shoulder. â€Å"Tell him this.† Galloway cleared his throat. â€Å"The Masonic Pyramid has always kept her secret . . . sincerely.† â€Å"I don’t understand.† The old man winked. â€Å"Just tell Peter that. He will understand.† With that, Dean Galloway bowed his head and began praying. Perplexed, Langdon left him there and hurried outside. Katherine was already in the front seat of the SUV giving the agent directions. Langdon climbed in back and had barely closed the door before the giant vehicle was rocketing across the lawn, racing northward to Kalorama Heights. How to cite The Lost Symbol Chapter 90-92, Essay examples

The Day I Met Destiny free essay sample

I remember the day I met Destiny. It was a Saturday, about two summers ago. It was an official street block association stoop-selling-event day, in fact. My family and I were new to the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood, but we were fairly familiar with the concept of gathering old junk from inside the house to display out on the curb for sale. I am used to keeping very busy with reading, writing and studying almost all of the time. I was skeptical that morning to spend valuable hours sitting in front of my house to make what I knew would be a profit of about 25 cents. But my family convinced me it would be fun for us to do together, so I collected all my old clothes that no longer fit, books I’d read enough times, funny little trinkets I suspected nobody would buy, and I trekked down the stairs and set up. We will write a custom essay sample on The Day I Met Destiny or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Destiny was five going on six that sticky summer. I was sitting in a folding chair sort of anxiously, displaying my array of old used things when Destiny stomped on over to me with more attitude than I’d ever seen up close. She was tiny but shockingly loud, brown, four feet tall, with a bright pink pout on her face. As she fiercely tossed her long brown pony tail all around, that little girl made very sure that I well understood— she was â€Å"Destiny! Your next door neighbor!† Destiny and I made an agreement to be friends that day. Destiny is part of a very large family next door from mine that my family refers to as â€Å"The Stoops†. Whereas perching on ones stoop for nearly the whole day is usually specific to a stoop selling event for most people in my neighborhood, for â€Å"The Stoops†, it is without a doubt, a definitely large part of every day. I’ve grown increasingly fascinated with these people since the day we moved in next door to them. I often watch them from my window on evenings when I momentarily tear myself apart from my studies. I marvel at the way they so casually relax for hours and hours just sitting on that stoop together, about ten of them at a time – mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, babies, the young, and the old. When Destiny Stoop is not at school, she is on her stoop, or playing somewhere nearby it. Since the day we met, I have not been able to walk up the block to my front door without being hug-attacked by this sassy little girl. She races to me when she sees me coming up the block, yelling â€Å"Emily!† and jumps into my arms as if she hasn’t seen me in years, when it’s really only been a day, or even an hour. She always insists that before I head upstairs I must give a try at the hopscotch game she’s just chalked onto the sidewalk, or listen to her perform the latest song she has made up, or watch how fast she can zoom down the block on her scooter. Though I sometimes worry about wasting my precious study time, I simply cannot ever say no to her. I do as she says, and take a few minutes just to hang out. I admit this greeting I receive from Destiny and the time we spend together is honestly one of my favorite parts of every day. Though it is hard for me to i magine myself ever being laid back as my neighbors to simply sit and hang out for hours on this chunk of soft Brooklyn concrete the way they do, the time I spend with Destiny each day, makes me feel so perfectly connected to these people and their relaxed way of life. It may have only been a few minutes each day that I have spent with her in the past few years, but this little girl has helped me to understand the true beauty of all this â€Å"stoop sitting.† I know from her, that it is not the time spent with our books, but spent leisurely with our family, friends, and neighbors, that we really do gain the most. Most of all, Destiny has truly taught me that wherever I go, it is of so much importance that I really know and understand, just who exactly my next door neighbors are.

Teenagers and Students Essay Example

Teenagers and Students Essay People in this group are young children that are still at compulsory education which means they will not need any big loans from bank to pay off any expenses e.g. University fees, although their parents might want to set up a savings account for them for when they grow up. Their parents and guardians will also support them so they should be responsible for any of their financial needs. Teenagers and Students (17-22) Teenagers and students from the age of 17 to 22 are quite different from the school age youth. This is because they are no longer at compulsory education and their financial needs have increased so their parents or guardians may support them less financially, because they will be expected to get a job. This means they will need to open a bank account so that when they do get in to the world of work their salary can be paid directly to the account. There are lots of financial services available to teenagers and students e.g. credit cards, but they might not be open to all of the major credit card companies e.g. (Master card, Visa, American express) because they do not have any credit history so they will need to start off with a student credit card. We will write a custom essay sample on Teenagers and Students specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Teenagers and Students specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Teenagers and Students specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Some people in this group will be finishing 6th form / college and be looking to go University and take their education to a next level but this in not cheap so they may need a bank loan to pay for the University fees. Post-education / pre-families (23-30) People in this group are young adults that have just finished university and looking to start a family. So this means that their financial needs will be quite great. This is because people in this group will be paying off student loans for their university fees. They might also want to get a mortgage to buy a house just to start off a family. The parents may perhaps open up a bank account to start saving for their childrens future university fees. Established families (40-50) Established families will be still paying off their mortgages and other financial debts. Parents in this stage will still be at work to keep on supporting their family financially. Their kids will be close to the time of leaving their house so there parents will be saving money for their kids university fees, if they decide to go on to further education. In addition they might also want to start thinking about starting life insurance Mature household (50-60) People in the mature household sector are at the stage of their life where there children will be moving out of the house and going on to further education at university, this means that the parents may be saving for their childrens university fees. At this time of their life they should have paid off or be close to paying off their mortgages and financial debts, but this all depends on how high their income is. Parents in this life stage will be thinking about life insurance so they will need to pay money in to their life insurance. Retired pensioners (60+) At this stage of their life they should have paid off their mortgages and other financial services. Pensioners are at a stage in their life where they do not have any big financial responsibilities. They will only be paying for personal needs E.g. clothes and food. This is because at this time of their life their children will be definitely moved out of the house. Pensioners are being supported financial by the government. Task 3 Introduction In task 3 I have been asked to design and create a fact sheet that explains three different banking services available to two people at different life stages, the people I am going to choose are Students and young families. Bank Services available for Students from Royal bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank Graduate current account A current account is used to hold funds for an individual. The benefit of having a current account is that it is an easy way of adding interest to the money that is in the account. Students will need a current account for many reasons, like salaries and benefits can be paid in and paying bills can be made a lot easier. This is because money can automatically put in and the bill will be automatically paid via direct debit. The account will also give interest on the balance will help their money grow. The graduate royalties account is available for 3 years and comes with an interest free overdraft up à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2000. An overdraft is a service that enables the account holder to withdraw over and above what they actually have in the account. Overdrafts are only available to people over the age of 18. This service will be appropriate for teenagers because it is flexibility on those occasions when you might need to spend before your money is paid in. This is also a preparation for teenagers to handle loans and credit cards because it is the banks money they are handling on a small scale. Student Credit from The royal Bank of Scotland A credit card allows customers to purchase goods on credit. This means that the customer will not have to pay for the good at the time of the transaction. The banks loans the customer money by a credit card. This loan is interest free for a short period time (after which the APR is usually quite high). The student Credit Card is designed for student life. It is a big breakthrough for students when they need all their essential needs. Food, clothes and books. When you add up all the expenses of student living it comes at a big price. On the student credit card there is up to 56 days interest free credit and this should come as good news (if the customer pays the balance in full and one time and have paid the previous months balance in full and on time) If not the interest rates will apply. The card is very flexible because it can be managed online from a computer or MAC to check balances etc. Graduate loan from Barclays Bank A loan is when a bank lends a customer money for a long term period. Interest rates vary depending on the sum of money taken out and the time taken to pay it back The graduate loan from Barclays bank is designed for students at university that are reaching their peek at university and getting ready to graduate. At this point in their life they are not really financial blessed so the graduate loan will help the individual settle down in their new life. The customer can borrow up à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 and can apply for repayment terms up to 60 months so this is really good and flexible for the individual. Fixed interest rates so monthly repayments never change. Loan Amount Representative APR Repayment Term* Monthly Repayment Total Payable à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,000 8.4% 60 months à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½62.38 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,742.80 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5,000 8.4% 60 months à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½103.97 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6,238.20 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 8.4% 60 months à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½207.93 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,475.80 Bank Services available for Young Families at HSBC First time buyer mortgage from Barclays bank A mortgage is the transfer of an interest in property (or in law the equivalent a charge) to a lender as a security for a debt usually a loan of money. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is lenders security for a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land (or the equivalent), from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. The first time buyer mortgage from Barclays bank is designed for people who are looking to buy their first home. So the first time buyer mortgage is designed to make this easy for the customer. There is a 2 year fixed rate mortgage so the customer can budget better at the start of their mortgage. Mortgage Interest rate Application fee What can I borrow? Early Repayment Charge 2-year fixed rate 6.49% until 31/01/2010, then for the remaining term BBBR + 0.95% currently 6.45%. The overall cost for comparison is 6.8% APR à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½995 Up to 95% of the value of your home 3% of the balance repaid until 31/01/2010 2-year fixed rate 6.79% until 31/01/2010, then for the remaining term BBBR + 0.95% currently 6.45%. The overall cost for comparison is 6.8% APR None Up to 95% of the value of your home 3% of the balance repaid until 31/01/2010 BBBR = Barclays Bank Base Rate. Homeowner loan from Barclays bank The homeowner loan is simply made for people that own a home and need to borrow between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5000 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100,000. The payments can be paid over 25 years and the monthly outgoings could be reduced by 50% this is achieved by spreading your new loan over a longer term. By doing this, your overall interest payments will increase. Platinum Credit Card from the royal bank of Scotland The platinum credit card from the royal bank of Scotland is designed for people that are over 25 and earn more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25,000 a year. This is clear the key charteristcs of an individual in the young families life stage. The customer can get 0% interest for 13 months from when they open their account and also pay 0% interest on balance transfers. Summary Box The information contained in this table summarises key product features and is not intended to replace any terms and conditions. APR Typical 13.9% APR (variable) Other Interest Rates Introductory Rate Monthly Rate Annual Rate Simple Effective Purchases 0% for 3 months 1.094% 13.128% p.a. 13.947% p.a. Balance Transfers 0% for 13 months 1.094% 13.128% p.a. 13.947% p.a. Cash Advances N/A 1.873% 22.476% p.a. 24.942% p.a. Money Transfers N/A 1.094% 13.128% p.a. 13.947% p.a. Interest Free Period Maximum 56 days for purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time, and have paid the previous months balance in full and on time no interest free period on cash advances or money transfers. Interest free period on balance transfers only applies to the introductory period. Interest Charging Information The periods over which interest is charged are as follows: From Until Purchases transaction date repaid in full Balance transfers transaction date repaid in full Cash advances transaction date repaid in full Money transfers date debited to your account repaid in full Allocation of Payments We will apply payments we receive to your account in the following order: Interest on special offers Other interest, any fee and charges Special offers Purchases and balance transfers Cash advances and money transfers See section 2(D) (b) of your Credit Card Agreement for full details. Minimum repayment Greater of 2.25% of your balance (rounded down to the nearest pound) or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 each month. Please note: we do not recommend that you only ever make your minimum payment. Amount of credit Minimum initial credit limit is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 and maximum is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000. All other credit limits (including the maximum available) are subject to status. Fees No Annual Fee. Charges Cash advances (except gambling transactions) subject to a handling fee of 2.5% with a minimum of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.50; Balance transfers subject to a fee of 2.5% (min à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5) during the first three months from account opening unless you qualify for exemption from that fee or are notified of a different fee under the terms of a special offer we make in connection with your application; Foreign exchange transactions subject to conversion fee of 2.75% (including purchase of foreign currency and travellers cheques); Copies of statements are subject to a fee of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3. Default charges Late payment and over limit fees are à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12; administration fee of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 to process dishonoured cheque or direct debit; administration fee of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12 to return unpaid promotional cheque to prevent you going over your limit. This is the rates and fees from the platinum credit card from the rbs (http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/g1/platinum.ashx#tabs=section2) Task 4 Introduction: In task 4 I have been asked to explain the distinctive features of two selected retail banking services that render them suitable for two contrasting customers. 7.9% APR typical on Barclays bank personal loan. Annual percentage rate (APR) is the simplified counterpart to the effective interest rate the borrower will pay on a loan. In many countries and jurisdictions, lenders (such as banks) are required to disclose the cost of borrowing in some standardized way as a form of consumer protection. APR is intended to make it easier to compare lenders and loan options. The APR is likely to differ from the note rate or headline rate advertised by the lender, due to the addition of other fees that may need to be included in the APR. However the APR can be found simply by asking the lender, or reading the section about APR in your contract. Typical: The typical part of the annual percentage rate means that the percentage rate may not be the same as the advertisements. The changes are made due to the position of the applicant, depending on how much dept they are in, the level of income they are having etc. People in all life stages will be looking for the lowest Annual percentage rate. 5.25% AER on e saving reward from Barclays bank. Annual Equivalent Rate is a notional rate thats generally quoted on interest paid on savings and investments. It purports to demonstrate what interest return would be if the interest was compounded and paid annually instead of monthly (or any other period). If an account pays interest more than once a year, say, for example, monthly or quarterly, then the AER is calculated by adding each interest payment to the deposit and then calculating the next interest payment, compounding the interest. Thus, on accounts where interest is paid quarterly, the AER will be slightly higher than the quoted gross rate because of the compound interest earned on the interest paid during the year[T1]. Task 5 Introduction: In task 5 I have been asked to describe two retail banking providers that might be considered appropriate to the likely financial needs of two contrasting customers. I will be explaining for is post education / pre families and established families. I will use Barclays bank and the post office Barclays bank will be appropriate for a senior student in university finishing their degree and preparing to have a family. This is because they will be looking for a retail bank to offer them a basic current account to enable them to manage their bills and other finances. People in this life stage will not want to focus on saving or investing although they might want to leave some money aside. Barclays also provides saving products. So if a senior student wants to invest or save large amounts they have a wide range of saving facilities to choose from such as long term savings plans or short term saving plans. This can be managed via online banking so it will make it very easy and save time for the customer. Barclays offers insurance products for all kind of possessions. Such as life, care, home and travel. This will be appropriate for someone in this life stage because they will have lots of important things that will need to be insured. Post office will be appropriate for people in the established family life stage this is because it is more about saving and investments. This will be good because it will help them save for the future whether it is for their children or just for the future. The post office provides the instant saver service, witch has a great rate of 3.75% AER. There is great access to their service because they have over 13000 branches across the uk. Plus over 60000 ATMs across the uk. In addition the account can be managed via online banking. The instant saver offers a double interest guarantee. The first guarantee is to pass on any rise in the bank of England base for 2 years. The second guarantee is that the customers interest rate will never be more that 1% below the bank of England base rate for the life of the account. All interest is paid in annually. The post office also provides a child trust fund. This will be very suitable for people in the established life stage because their life will be comfortable and established so the will be in a good position to want to save for the future and for their children. The child trust fund is a stake holder account. Which means it has strict standards that must be met by the government, and one of these standards is that some of the money must be invested in shares. Task 6 Introduction In this task I have been asked to describe three savings products which will be considered appropriate to the financial needs of two contrasting customers at a given life stage and the customers that I am going to do are people in mature house holds and young families. Savings Builder from Barclays bank The savings builder is for people who have at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 to save, and wants a great rate of interest with easy access to their account via the Internet and telephone. These will be key characteristics of an adult in a mature household. Interest is calculated on the daily statement balance of the account and is payable monthly on the first working day of the month. The rates of interest depend on the account balance and whether any withdrawals have been made from the account in the previous calendar month. Where no withdrawals have been made interest is calculated at the higher range of rates applicable to the account balance. On the other hand when or more withdraws have been made the interest is calculated at the lower range of rates applicable to the account balance. So this will encourage the customer to save. The Saving builders from Barclays Bank will be appropriate for people in an established family as well. Established families should be able to have at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 if they would like to use the service. The rates of interest depend on the account balance and whether any withdrawals have been made from the account in the previous calendar month. Where no withdrawals have been made interest is calculated at the higher range of rates applicable to the account balance. On the other hand when or more withdraws have been made the interest is calculated at the lower range of rates applicable to the account balance. So this will encourage the customer to save. Day to Day Savings Account from Barclays Bank The Day to Day savings account is designed for someone who will need immediate access to their money for unplanned expenses or special treats, which will be part of a universitys students life style. The customer doesnt have to be a regular saver and it is cheap to open with just à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 which will be great for the customer. Plus a cash card is available allowing the customer to withdraw up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300. Day to Day Savings Open from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 Maximum deposit N/A Interest rate 4.26% AER (4.18% gross pa)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Access Instant Interest paid (frequency) Monthly Account management Branch, phone, cash card and online (if registered this for Online Banking) The day to day savings account will be appropriate for established families. This is because established families will be settled in their homes heading towards paying off their mortgage, so this means that they will be able to afford to take money out on a day to day basis. In addition believe that adults in this life stage will have unexpected things to pay for like birthdays and day to day maintenance of their child. High Interest Deposit Bond from HSBC Bonds are usually referred to as risk-free bonds, because the government can raise taxes or simply print more money to redeem the bond at maturity. Some counter examples do exist where a government has defaulted on its domestic currency debt, such as Russia in 1998 (the ruble crisis), though this is very rare. The high interest deposit bond is designed for people in the established families life stage. This is because it is designed for people who have between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2000 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50000 in savings and concerned about falling interest rates and looking to change the rate of their savings. 5.75% AER /gross. Adults living in this lifestyle will have this kind of amount in savings so it will definitely be appropriate for them. The savings can be over 1, 2 or 3 years and the interested can be added on a monthly or annual basis. Effective Date Term Net % Gross % AER % High Interest Deposit Bond Monthly interest (Fixed Rate) 01.09.08 6 months 4.29 5.37 5.50 12 months 4.48 5.60 5.75 24 months 4.10 5.13 5.25 36 months 4.10 5.13 5.25 High Interest Deposit Bond from HSBC will also be suitable for people in the teenager and student lifestyle this is because students at university or post graduate students will be looking into saving money in high interest. There are a lot of different time scales they can invest for jus to suite them, whether it is 6 months or 3 years. This will be very appropriate because it will enable them to have a lot of money saved in the bank for when they leave university and preparing to start their own family. Task 8 Introduction In this task I have been asked to describe and explain in detail two investment products that will be considered appropriate for two contrasting customers at a given life stage. This will be people in teenager and student life stage and young families. Income Bonds from National Savings and Investments. Income Bonds provide the customer with a monthly income at a competitive variable interest rate, with no risk to their capital. Income Bonds from national savings and investments will be very suitable for young families because the people in this life stage will be doing post graduate work or finishing university. It will be very helpful because the income bonds will provide them with an additional monthly income. This will enable them to help out with your household outgoings, or to contribute to a few of lifes little luxuries. It is very convenient because they can choose to withdraw money when ever they want with no notice and no penalties. Income Bonds from national savings and investments will also be very appropriate for people in the teenager and students life stage. This is because people in this life style will be provided with an additional monthly income which will be very supportive for their day to day needs. It will be able to support them if their student loan has not been activated. It will also be very helpful for when they are about to leave university and preparing to live by themselves. Interest Rates Total Investment Gross rate pa AER Under à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25000 4.45% 4.54% à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25,000 + 4.70% 4.80% Gross is the taxable rate of interest without the deduction of UK Income Tax. AER (Annual Equivalent Rate) is a notional rate that illustrates what the annual rate of interest would be if the interest was compounded each time it was paid. Where interest is paid annually, the quoted rate and the AER are the same. The Baby Bond CTF account from The Childrens mutual The baby bond ctf account is stakeholder account for parents to save and invest their money for their kids for the later future in the governments way. This will definitely be the key characteristics of adults in the young family life stage. So that there is a chance for more potential growth, the baby bond account will be in a share-based fund. There are risks in doing this because the value of shares can go up and down, but the baby bond account is a long-term investment of 18 years so a big amount will be made despite the continuous change in the value to the shares. The minimum amount that can be paid in to start the account is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 so it is easy and cheap to get started, and with all other contributions there could be a potential sum of up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1200 and that is on top of the governments addition. The childs account is increased of its value by 1.5% The baby bond ctf account will be very suitable adults in the student life stage because it will be a great step to preparing for their childrens future it is a long-term investment of 18 years so a big amount will be made despite the continuous change in the value to the shares. The minimum amount that can be paid in to start the account is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 so it is easy and cheap to get started, and with all other contributions there could be a potential sum of up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1200 and that is on top of the governments addition. The childs account is increased of its value by 1.5% Total amount paid in (including à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½250 voucher and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½250 at age 7) Possible value of Baby Bond(r) Stakeholder account in 18 years time Based on 5% growth each year Based on 7% growth each year Based on 9% growth each year à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½821 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,090 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,440 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2,660 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,790 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4,690 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5,840 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5,900 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8,260 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,100 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,400 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11,300 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15,700 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½19,100 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½23,400 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½22,100 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30,500 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½37,100 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½45,400 Task 9 Introduction In this task I have been asked to describe and explain three other financial services which might be appropriate to the likely financial needs of two contrasting customers. Income Protection from Royal Bank of Scotland Income protection is designed as a safety net to keep people financially healthy just in case of a long- term illness or accidental injury which could play havoc on peoples finances. I believe that this will be very appropriate for people in the mature household life stage. Simply because their life is moving at its peak so they will definitely need some sort of back up if something was to go wrong. It could help maintain your familys standard of living, providing a monthly income to help pay your mortgage, other debts or household bills. The plan is very flexible they can decide on how long they want their income to be paid if they are off work. It can be until any age from 50 to 65. The monthly income they receive under the plan is guaranteed until they are fit enough to back to work or until the plan end for example if they intend retirement age. Income protection will also be suitable and appropriate for people in the post education and pre families life stage. This is because they will be on the way up to starting their life on their own. So it will be vital for them to have some sort of safety net. This is because if there is no form of financial back up it will leave the individual in a very critical position. Travel Insurance from The Royal Bank Of Scotland Travel Insurance is designed to cover medical expenses, money invested in non-refundable pre- payments, and other losses that happen while travelling either within ones country, or internationally. The royal bank of Scotland will be very suitable insurance company for someone to choose because it is one of the biggest travel insurance companies in the UK so they have a big reputation to give their customers confidence in them. Travel insurance will be suitable for people in all life stages simply because everyone should be insured when they are away on holiday. But I think this will suite people in Mature households more because they will probably have the most expensive assets because they are one of the most families settled in their life. Travel insurance will be very suitable for people in post graduate and pre families life stage because people in this life stage are very active and tend to travel a lot so it will be very important for them to be insured whilst on holiday. Car Insurance from The Royal Bank Of Scotland Car insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents and against liability that could be incurred in an accident. Car insurance from The Royal Bank Of Scotland is very good. They provide a courtesy car for the customer when there car is being repaired. If the customer has home insurance with the royal bank of Scotland they will save 15%. Although car insurance is vital for people in all life stages, this service will be very appropriate for people in mature household because of all the benefits that come with it such as the 15% discount that comes with the insurance. That is only available to people with home insurance, and that will be something that mature households will have. [T1] I do not know how to work out an example