The Meaning of Human Existence Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Human Existence Essay In both the Metamorphosis and The Stranger the authors focus on the irrationality of the universe and explore the insignificance of human life. Both of the novels main characters, Gregor (from the Metamorphosis) and Meursault (from The Stranger) live lives of silent desperation. In the Metamorphosis Franz Kafka introduces us to Gregor, an ordinary young business man supporting his unappreciative family. The startling element to this novel is that Gregor has just turned into a beetle. The Stranger by Albert Camus tells a story of a very physically different character, named Meursault, yet both books convey similar messages. Gregor and Meursault start out unaware of their circumstances however throughout each of the novels they become more aware and learn to accept their fate. The Metamorphosis begins where your typical story is at its climax; we have no idea how or why Gregor has made this physical transformation to a beetle. This is the principal expression of the irrationality that exists in the novel. Gregor resists this situation for which he has had no control over nor can he change. It is an unfortunate irony that Gregor cannot accept the fact that he is no longer a human, this is seen on page five when he says, In fact, Gregor felt fine, with the exception of his drowsiness, which was really unnecessary after sleeping so late How can this man wake up one morning, look into the mirror and see a giant bug staring back at him, and then carry on with his day as usual? This brings up a serious issue; Gregor wakes up and his only thought is of getting to work, there is nothing that is going to stop him from getting there, even waking up as a giant vermin. Throughout the novel Kafka presents us with a man obsessed with his profession, in search of his parents approval, jus t as many of us live day in and day out. Meursault does not face the same physical obstacles as Gregor but is similar in that he possesses neither rational thought nor lives in a rational world. He exists solely as a physical being, there is no thought or emotions put into his choices. When Meursault is hungry he eats, when he is tired he sleeps, when he needs a woman he goes to his girlfriend. This desire for physical relief is presented multiple times throughout the novel: I ate almost everything. She left at one oclock and I slept awhile. (Page 36) Meursault does not display any emotion or rationale; he doesnt stop question anything, just accepts life as it is and carries on. Meursaults predicament stems from his choice to shoot and kill an Algerian man. During his trial the prosecuting attorney questions Meursaults morality because he did not grieve appropriately for his mothers death. When he faces the attorneys interrogation he answers each question telling the truth and doesnt try to skew things. Meursault didnt mean to maliciously go out and kill the Arab man, he simply allows himself to fall into these immoral situations because of his lack of thought and consideration. The attorney is playing his game and attempts to fabricate a rational reason for his behavior, but in reality Meursault was simply irrational. Camus uses this situation to comment on the way that we try to rationalize every situation that we are faced with, but sometimes things happen without a reason. Camus takes a perspective similar to the scientific viewpoint, that as humans we do not know anything for certain except that we will die. We are born, live out our lives, repopulate and then die to be forgotten forever, but I dont think that this is how Kafka feels we are meant to function. In his novel family has more of a presence, Gregors family does not love him because of his character, but rather because he provides them with a comfortable lifestyle. He lives the busy working mans life because he has to if he is to receive any respect from his family. As humans we need to be loved and as the provider of his family this is the closest that Gregor gets. Gregor feels the responsibilities of being concerned for everyone but himself which is shown by this quote, So, to spare her even (his) sight, one day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch and arranged it in such a way that he was now completely covered up. He is willing to cover himself up so as that he doesnt upset his mother with h is appearance. There is something very wrong with this scenario; Kafka uses this extreme example not to tell us how to live our lives, but to simply show us that this is how we should not live. Family plays a very different role in Camus novel. All of Meursaults family is gone; his mother has just died so her expectations of him are non- existent. Albert Camus uses his mother, Maman, as a tool to tell us of the lack of importance that human life has. On page three Meursault says, Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I dont know. His mother was elderly, and he decided to place her in a retirement home because she had become an inconvenience to him; she had stopped talking not to mention the trouble of getting (her) to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours travelling. (Page 5) To Meursault there is no one person that he truly cares for besides himself, he even feels indifferent towards his girlfriend. Camus uses. Meursault symbolizes everyone in todays world, and uses this situation as a way of commenting on how our life is. Again, just as Kafka, Camus is not attempting to tell us that our lives are meaningless, but that this is how we are treating ourselves. We ne ed to make a cha nge to recognize that human existence is of greater importance than we give it credit. As both of the novels move along Gregor and Meursault slowly decay until their death. Both characters make a transformation or come to a realization. As the novel progresses Gregor moves away from his human tendencies and becomes more and more insect like, accepting and even embracing his insect qualities. The symbols for this are the references to his head, for example on page 22 He could not raise his head anymore. It is at this point that we can tell that Gregor has lost some kind of connection to humanity. This representation is repeated multiple times throughout the novel, each time the situation Gregor less and less resembles a human until he finally dies and is swept out with the trash. Meursault too comes to accept his situation and his fate as he awaits his execution with no optimism, yet content and at peace with himself because he is no longer a stranger. Our lives are indeed meaningless to a certain degree, we are on earth to perform our function and then die. Even the most distinguished of our generation will one day be forgotten as just another person trying to make their mark on the world, so why do we live our lives in search of control and the ability to make rational decisions. We live in an irrational world where the only thing we know for sure is that we will one day die. This was not quite what every person expects to hear as an answer to the meaning in life, but life becomes meaningful only because we perceive it to have a purpose. Reflect on your own life. Do not live from moment to moment without questioning who you are as it is better to live forty years of knowing who you are and what you are doing with your life than live 100 years without a thought of anyone else, because life is only what we make of it.

Gothic Architecture :: Architectural Middle Ages Churches Essays

Gothic Architecture The church in the Middle Ages was a place that all people, regardless of class, could belong to. As a source of unity, its influence on art and architecture was great during this time. As society drew away from the feudal system of the Romanesque period, a new spirit of human individualism began to take hold; alas, the birth of Gothic. Here, the Church became a place where humanity became more acceptable, alas becoming the ideal place to visual such new ideals. The beauty and elegance of Gothic architecture is depicted most in the great cathedrals of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries—St. Denis, Notre Dame, Chartres, Salisbury, Durham, Amiens, and more. The experience of looking at one of the great gothic cathedrals is to look up towards God. Indeed, most Gothic structures emphasize the vertical, drawing one’s eyes upwards toward the heavens with the awesomeness of God. These cathedrals were built with towering spires, pointed arches and flying buttresses giving impressi ons of harmony and luminosity. One of the major accomplishments of the 12th and 13th centuries was to develop the engineering mastery of the ribbed vault, pointed arch and flying buttress to create a great cathedral that is at once taller, lighter, wider, and more elegant than the ones before. Even though the pointed arch could support more weight than its predecessors, there was still the problem of finding a way to support the heavy masonry ceiling vaults over wide spans. In order to support the outward thrust of barrel vaults, vertical support walls have to be very thick and heavy. What makes possible the extensive use of ribbed vaulting and pointed arches to â€Å"open† and â€Å"lighten† the walls and space of the cathedral is the flying buttress—â€Å"an arched bridge above the aisle roof that extends from the upper nave wall, where the lateral thrust of the main vault is greatest, down to a solid pier.† [Jansen, History of Art, p. 407]. The effect is to add structural strength and solidity to the building. The visual appearance of changes from the Early and Later or High Gothic are clear, as each cathedral became increasingly narrower and taller. For instance, compare the nave elevations of Notre-Dame to Amiens [Text, fig. 442, p. 333], the pointed arches of Amiens are significantly taller and narrower than the much earlier Notre Dame. The mastery of the flying buttress allowed medieval builders to construct taller and more elegant looking buildings with more complex ground plans.

Quality Child Care Matters

Mother’s have quite the dilemma when deciding when and if to return to work after giving birth to a child. Sometimes the choice is made for them due to financial reasons and sometimes they have the luxury of deciding on which is the best scenario for themselves and their families. In trying to make this decision, mothers may wonder if and how their absence and the choice of child care will affect their child. In all the years I have spend in early childhood education and child care, I think I have probably seen all of the â€Å"scenarios† and know that there is no one right answer. Each situation is different and there are so many variables, even within each variable, but the evidence is so vast that there are certainly findings to please almost everyone (Belsky, 2009, p. 1). In my research on this delicate topic, I have come to the conclusion that the only two factors that can predict positive outcomes for children’s later development is the combination of child care quality and healthy family attachments and support. As you will see, there are so many variables and each plays into the other, but safe and secure relationships at home and in child care are the winning factors in this decades long debate. There are two well-known pieces of data that have been gathered which researchers have utilized throughout the years to study the effects of maternal employment on later development. The first was conducted by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and began in 1979. The NLSY79 is a nationally representative sample of 12, 686 young men and women who were 12-22 years old when they were first surveyed in 1979. These individuals were interviewed annually through 1994 and are currently interviewed on a biennial basis† (US Dept. f Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www. bls. gov/nls/y79summary. htm, para. 1). In 1986, the NLSY79 was used as â€Å"a separate survey of all children born to NLSY79 female respondents† to conduct more child-specific information† (US Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www. bls. gov/nls/nlsy79ch. htm, para. 8). Researchers such as Jay Belsky (1988) first utilized the NLSY79 data to study the effects of early and extensive maternal employment. Belsky, etc al. oncluded â€Å"that children who had initiated care for 30 or more hours per week in their first year and whose care at this level continued through their preschool years evinced poorer academic and social functioning than did children whose full-time care began sometime later – and that this was true whether one looked at teacher reports, parent reports, peer reports, or the children’s own self-reports† (Belsky & Eggebeen, 1991, p. 1084). There were some problems with this early research and the data that was used to interpret outcomes. One of the problems was that the two groups studied (maternal employment and non-maternal employment) were too different in so many ways. â€Å"One of the most difficult methodological issues in studying this causal process is the fact that there are substantial differences between women who work soon after their child is born and women who do not† (Hill, Waldfogel, Brooks-Gunn, & Wen-Jui, 2005, p. 834). Another problem with this wave of research was that â€Å"the effects of different features of the child-care experience, particularly the quality of the care, the amount or quality of care, and the type of care† (Belsky, Vandell, Burchinal, et al. 2007, p. 682) were not taken into account at the same time. Prior research â€Å"examined one or another feature of the child-care experience, but never all three† (Belsky, Vandell, Burchinal, et al. , 2007, p. 682). The second wave of research was based on more specific data â€Å"to examine the concurrent, long-term , and cumulative influences of variations in early child care experiences on the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development of infants and toddlers† (Friedman, NICHD, 1992, p. 1. . These researchers were interested not only in the effects of child-care, but the â€Å"endurance of effects† (Belsky, Vandell, & Burchinal, 2007, p. 682). They continued to follow up with children from 4 ? – 11 years of age. This goal of this study was â€Å"accomplished through the implementation of a study design that takes into account the complex concurrent, long-term and cumulative interactions among characteristics of the family and home, of the child care environments, and of the child† (Friedman, 1992, p. 6). Researchers such as Jennifer Hill and Jane Waldfogel (2005) utilized the NICHD data to determine the effects of maternal employment with easier access to more varied situations. They broke up their results into four categories – Comparisons Between Worked After First Year and Never Worked, Comparisons Between Worked Part Time in the First Year and Did Not Work Until After the First Year, Comparisons Between Worked Full Time in the First Year Versus Did Not Work Until After the First Year, and Comparisons Between Worked Full Time in the First Year Versus Worked Part Time in the First Year (pp. 839-842). These researchers concluded that â€Å"negative effects of maternal employment on children’s cognitive outcomes were found in our analyses primarily for children whose mothers were employed full time in the first year postbirth as compared with children whose mothers postponed work until after their child’s first year of life and also as compared with mothers who worked part time in the first year. Negative effects in terms of increased externalizing behavioral problems were evident in each of these comparisons involving mothers who worked full time in the first year† (Hill, Waldfogel, Brooks-Gunn, and Hann, 2005, p. 44). Although the use of the NICHD study did allow researchers to analyze the data utilizing more correlations between diverse situations, there is even later research that delves even deeper into the mixed bag of maternal work situations, family dynamics, home-life, child-care situations, etc. Heather Joshi, et al. , extended the studies even furthe r by including events such as, â€Å"additional information concerning the types of jobs that they return to: are these jobs routinized or do they provide a degree of autonomy† (2008, p. ). Also included in these studies is the â€Å"interactions between our maternal employment measures and additional maternal characteristics and behaviors† and the â€Å"differences by gender† (Joshi, Cooksey, Verropoulou, Menaghan, & Tzavidis, 2008, p. 2). The results of these more recent studies lend â€Å"only limited support to negative effect of mother’s employment per se during infancy and the pre-school years on later child well-being† (Joshi, Cooksey, Verropoulou, Menaghan, & Tzavidis, 2008, p. ). The extent and expansion of variables for research surrounding maternal employment continues to grow. Joshi, et al. , are currently working on expanding on their set of â€Å"both maternal employment and maternal/family background variables† Joshi, Cooksey, Verropoulou, Menaghan, & Tzavidis, 2008, p. 3) which should be completed sometime in 2009 (the results for which I have not yet been able to locate). There are four questions that have motivated current research on this topic. They have been identified as: Does extensive child care in the first year of life disrupt attachment between mother and child, what is the influence of varying types of in child care quality on children’s development, do long hours spent in child-care add to later behavior problems, and what are the effects of the types of child-care that are available? Mother-Child Attachment The earliest studies surrounding maternal employment and attachment came up with many mixed results which is one of the main reasons that the NICHD decided to begin their own study (1986). Assessment of the mother-child attachment relationship is made using various measures, including the Strange Situation† (Friedman, NICHD, 1992, p. 12). The Strange Situation was a psychological study designed by Mary D. Ainsworth which consisted â€Å"of eight episodes presented in a standardized order for all subjects† (1978, pp. 32-33) which tested the reactions of children, ages 12 – 18 months, w hilst in the presence of mother only, mother-stranger, stranger only, and alone (including the return of mother during each separation from her). According to the NICHD, â€Å"there were no significant main effects of child-care experience (quality, amount, age of entry, stability, or type of care) on attachment security or avoidance† and there were â€Å"significant main effects of maternal sensitivity and responsiveness† (NICHD, 1997, https://secc. rti. org/abstracts. cfm? abstract=9). These negative affects in attachment were also amplified when â€Å"combined with poor quality child care, more than minimal amounts of child care, or more than one care arrangement† (NICHD, 1997, https://secc. ti. org/abstracts. cfm? abstract=9). Child Care Quality The quality of the child-care of a child proves to be one of the most important factors when addressing the impact of child-care on child development. When assessing the impact of child-care quality, it is important to look at child-staff ratio, group size, and caregiver education and/or training. The quality of the interactions between caregivers and children, between peers, as well as how caregivers facilitate these interactions is also a tremendous indicator of child-care quality. According to the NICHD, children who experience high-quality child-care have higher scores on achievement and language tests, show fewer behavioral issues and better social skills. Programs like the federally funded Head Start can also function as an intervention for children from at-risk families/situations. In 2007, Belsky conducted a study based on the NICHD findings and concluded â€Å"that quality and type of care remained associated with children’s vocabulary and problem behavior† (2007, p. 297). In a 2002 study (also based on NICHD), researchers Hill, Waldfogel, & Brooks-Gunn concluded that children who participated in no non-maternal care and home-based, non-maternal care â€Å"would have gained the most from high quality center-based care and moreover, would have more consistently remained the bulk of these benefits overtime† (2002, p. 1). Hours Spent in Child Care Although the findings seem to be mixed, there is some evidence that the amount of hours spent in child care may be a cause for some behavior problems, namely aggressive behavior. The NICHD researchers (Belsky, Hill), did conclude that â€Å"children with more experience in child-care centers were rated by their teachers as showing somewhat more disruptive behavior in sixth grade† (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, n. d. , p. 2), but more recent research (Joshi, Cooksey, et al. ) explored â€Å"various interactions between our maternal employment measures and additional maternal characteristics and behaviors† (2008, p. 2) to be added risk factors for behavioral issues. Type of Child Care There are also mixed findings in the effects of the type of child care situation a young child experiences. I feel rather strongly that a primary caregiver relationship is best for the young infants entering child care (whether it be in a more formal, group care setting or a private situation). Unfortunately most group child care programs do not offer a primary caregiver model which definitely contributes to the disorganization and unpredictability of the care that a child receives. With a primary care model, caregivers can â€Å"promote a stronger attachment than might happen if attachment were left to chance or if all the caregivers relate to the whole group without differentiation† (Gonzalez-Mena, 2007, p. 49). Penelope Leach, et al. also state that â€Å"children who experience greater caregiver stability while attending early years settings have been found to have more secure relationships with their caregivers and to show higher degrees of social competence† (2008, p. 180). When child care provider implement practices that support child development (whether it be group care of private care), the results are positive. What it all seems to come down to is that the effects of maternal employment are complex and vary from family to family, child care situation to child care situation, and parental style/characteristics. The NICHD researchers clearly suggest that â€Å"we seek to move beyond the determination of possible risks that may be presented by child care as a unitary category. Rather, we want to find out how the effects of non-maternal care vary as a function of different variables such as child care quality, the extent of its use, characteristics of the children and of their family and home† (Friedman, NICHD, 1992, p. 10). These factors combined with family income/education and child gender make for a very complicated study. One factor seems to influence the other and there are so many variables. The one thing that does stand out in all of the research is that developmental outcomes are dependent upon the quality of child care and family dynamics. When a child is feeling supported by both his/her parents and the people that care for him/her, the outcomes are favorable. Quality child care programs support cognitive, physical, social-emotional development, but unfortunately so many families do not have access to these programs due to their lack of availability and the high cost of most quality programs. A proof in point is that I am currently a private child care provider and due to my expertise, I am able to charge higher rates than others in my field, but only families that can afford these rates are able to hire me. The sad thing is that â€Å"a national study of 100 child care centers found that 92% of them provided inadequate care to infants† and â€Å"it was reported that two in five centers were rated less than minimal† (FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy, http://www. peip. fsu. edu/resourceFiles/resourceFile_81. pdf). Keep in mind that these figures are based on child care centers with varied tuition rates in various parts of the county. Those numbers are just staggering and unacceptable, but make perfect sense when you take into account that child care providers are usually not professionally trained or minimally trained and receive very low wages. Teacher training and regulations on child care centers are getting stricter which is a good si gn. More and more mothers are returning to work and it is only cost effective that the investments we make in early child care practices will result in better adjusted and academically successful children in the years to come. References Ainsworth, M. (1978). Patterns of attachment: a psychological study of the strange situation Philadelphia: Laurence Earlbaum Associates, Inc. Belsky, J. & Eggebeen, D. (1991, January 1). Early and extensive maternal employment and young children’s socioemotional development: children of the national longitudinal survey of youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53(4), 1083-98. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ440714). Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ERIC database. Belsky, J. , Vandell, D. , Burchinal, M. , Clark-Stewart, K. , McCartney, K. , & Owen, M. (2007, March 1). Are there long-term effects of early child care?. Child Development, 78(2), 681-701, (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ756658). Retrieved August 15 From ERIC database. Belsky, J. (2009, March). Effects of child care on development. Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues. Birkbeck University of London. Gonzalez-Mena, J. Infants, toddlers, and caregivers. Boston: McGraw-Hill. FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy. (n. d. ). Research on quality child care For infants and toddlers. Retrieved August 25, 2009 from https://www. cpeip. fsu. edu. Hill, J. , Waldfogel, J. , & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002, September 1). Different effects of high quality Care. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(4), 601-627. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ772831). Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ERIC database. Hill, J. , Waldfogel, J. , Brooks-Gunn, J. , & Han, W. (2005, November 1). Maternal employment and child development: a fresh look using newer methods. Developmental Psychology, 41(6), 833-850. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ733669). Retrieved August 25, 2009. Joshi, H. , University of London, Cooksey, E. , The Ohio State University, Verropoulou, G. , University of Piraeus, Menaghan, E, The Ohio State University, & Tzavidis, N. , University of Manchester. (2008). Combining childrearing with work: do maternal employment experiences compromise child development. Retrieved August 12, 2009 from http://iussp2009. princeton. edu/download. aspx? submissionId=92322. Leach, P. Barnes, J. , Malmberg, L. , Sylva, K. , & Stein, A. (2008, February 1). The quality of different types of child care at 10 and 18 months: a comparison between types and factors related to quality. Early Child Development and Care, 178(2), 177-209. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ782856). Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ERIC database. Motherhood-extent and effects of maternal employment. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 26, 2009 from http://family. jrank. org/pages/1187/Motherhood-Extent-Effects-Maternal- Employment. html National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Scientific briefs: how early child care affects later development. (2007). Retrieved August 12, 2009 from http://www. developingchild. net. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care: A comprehensive Longitudinal Study of Young Children’s Lives. (1992, June 1). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED353087). Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ERIC database. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (1987). The effects of infant child care on infant- Mother attachment security: results of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Child Development, 68.

Analysis Of The Harlem Renaissance, African American Poets

During the introduction of the Harlem Renaissance, African American poets started to gain popularity for their works. The works of African American poets were seen to be uninfluential to the genre of poetry due to the difference of addressed issues. Poets of African American decent did not only address issues of the sex, but also race, colorism, and class. Though fighting for some of the same issues, black poets had issues on a different spectrum from white poets. The emergence of Womanist derived from the different attitudes and issues between black poets and their white counterparts. Colorism amongst black was mentioned commonly amongst the works of African American poets. Colorism, which is discrimination based the color of skin, was†¦show more content†¦Clifton describes what she would look like as a white person, â€Å"hair a flutter of / fall leaves / circling my perfect / line of a nose / no lips / no behind† (Gilbert, 1121). At the end of the poem, Clifton wa kes up from a dream and her dream confirmed that she does not need to be white to feel accepted and beautiful. Her race gives her that satisfaction, â€Å"and i’m wearing white history but there’s no future in those clothes so i take them off and wake up dancing. (Gilbert, 1121). The works of Gwendolyn Brooks addresses issues in the African American community. Brooks mentions issues including racial identity, political consciousness, and feminism. In her poem, The Mother, Brooks discusses her experience with abortion. Abortions were viewed as one of the most horrific things a woman can do. Society viewed women who had abortions as monsters, which resulted into shaming. Women had to keep abortions secret or to lie if they were to remain with a good reputation, â€Å"Is faulty: oh, what shall I say, how is the truth to be said? You were born, you had body, you died. It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried†. (Gilbert, 781) Brook’s uses various poetic techniques to get her poems across to people. Poetic techniques are used to keep readers engaged and interested in the poem. In the poem, We Real Cool, she uses alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, consonance, and assonance, â€Å"We real cool. We LeftShow MoreRelatedReoccurring Themes in the Work of Langston Hughes Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. 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