Reflections On The Things They Carried Essays - Free Essays

Reflections On The Things They Carried Essays - Free Essays Reflections on "The Things They Carried" Part I: Analyzing the story?s craftsmanship Tim O?Brien wrote a story that is known as "The Things They Carried." It is a carefully crafted, detailed account of a Lieutenant and his men, the time period being right in the middle of the Vietnam war. In most war stories the author spends most of his or her time describing actions and events to the reader, trying to really put the reader "right there" in the middle of everything that is happening. However, O?Brien drifts away from that trend here, hardly describing any events of import to us at all. Rather, he focuses on the thoughts of the soldiers, the inner feelings, small personal nuances and quirks that really describe the men. Being out in the wilderness, far from home or anything they recognize, these men must deal with the mental and physical stresses of war. Here is where O?Brien implements his literary art form. One thing a reader may notice when reading the story is the fact that the story is written in third person, limited omniscient. The narrator is not actually in the story, merely telling us of the events, and yet we still get to see inside Lt. Cross?s mind to more accurately picture his feelings. The narrator also, although letting us see the innermost, personal thoughts of Cross, always refers to the Lieutenant as either "he,", "him," or "Lt. Cross," never speaking of him by only his first name, which seems rather formal. Also, it is odd that O?Brien should choose the third person to write in when creating a story such as this one. Usually when an author wants the reader to feel what the main character is feeling, they will write the story in the first person point of view, to give the events and thoughts a more personal touch. However, the way O?Brien phrases his sentences, it is really very simple for the reader to get that accurate feeling for the main character, even! though it is not the main character speaking. For example, on the next to last page of the story, there is a large piece that speaks about Lt. Cross?s feelings. "On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha?s letters. Then he burned the two photographs. There was a steady rain falling. . . He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. Lavender was dead. You couldn?t burn the blame." (Hansen, 436) This section is very vivid in the portrayal of Lt. Cross. The reader can easily see the man, crouching in the bottom of a muddy hole, burning photographs while thinking of a terrible blame he felt was his: it is a sad scene to picture. Another thing O?Brien does in his story is, as I mentioned above, to concentrate more on thoughts and seemingly minor details rather than on events. In the story, O?Brien skips the burning of a village in just a simple remark that makes it almost feel like an afterthought. ("Afterward they burned Than Khe." Hansen, 427) But, he spends almost half of the story explaining what exactly the men carried with them, going into full detail of why they carried these things, how much they weighed, etc. This is for a very good reason, though. O?Brien uses this weight factor as a symbolism and parallel to the "weight" of the emotional baggage and mental conflicts the men must also carry with them as they trek through this strange foreign land. At the bottom of the eleventh page O?Brien mentions this directly: "They all carried emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing-these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity! , they had tangible weight." (Hansen, 434-435) He then goes on for another half of a page describing other emotional baggage they carried. This shows some of the real horror of war; not who wins or who dies, but also what effect it has on all parties involved, including the soldiers out there usually fighting battles that they would rather not be fighting. Also, O?Brien

How to Prepare a Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH Solution

How to Prepare a Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH Solution Sodium hydroxide is a common and useful strong base. Special care is required to prepare a solution of sodium hydroxide or NaOH in water because considerable heat is liberated by the exothermic reaction. The solution may splatter or boil. Here is how to make a sodium hydroxide solution safely, along with recipes for several common concentrations of NaOH solution. Amount of NaOH to Make Sodium Hydroxide Solution Prepare solutions of sodium hydroxide using this handy reference table which lists the amount of solute (solid NaOH) that is used to make 1 L of base solution. Follow these lab safety guidelines: Dont touch sodium hydroxide! It is caustic and could cause chemical burns. If you do get NaOH on your skin, immediately rinse it with a large volume of water. Another option is to neutralize any base on the skin with a weak acid, such as vinegar, and then rinse with water.Stir the sodium hydroxide, a little at a time, into a large volume of water and then dilute the solution to make one liter. Add sodium hydroxide to waterdo not add water to solid sodium hydroxide.Be sure to use borosilicate glass (e.g., Pyrex) and consider immersing the container in a bucket of ice to keep the heat down.  Inspect the glassware prior to use to make sure it is free from any cracks, scratches or chips that would indicate a weakness in the glass. If you use a different type of glass or weak glass, theres a chance the temperature change could cause it to shatter.Wear safety goggles and gloves since there is a chance the sodium hydroxide solution could splash up or the glassware could break. Concentrate d solution of sodium hydroxide are corrosive and should be handled with care. Recipes for Common NaOH Solutions To prepare these recipes, start with 1 liter of water and slowly stir in the solid NaOH. A magnetic stir bar is helpful if you have one. M of solution Amount of NaOH Sodium Hydroxide 6 M 240 g NaOH 3 M 120 g F.W. 40.00 1 M 40 g 0.5 M 20 g 0.1 M 4.0 g

Aviation Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Aviation Law - Case Study Example A brief study of the various kinds of infringements of the rules and the supposed remedial measures or punishments for each help determine which rules Jack has infringed upon and understand the punishment he is liable for the same. Understanding of the severity of the infringements and a closer look at Jack's reasons and situations which have led to the supposed infringements by him help in a more detailed analysis and recommendations to Jack for facing the trial which would sure follow. Although the Jack has managed to avoid any serious accident or damage, it is still a case of serious infringement to a certain extent. Even the psychological conditions have to be taken into consideration as Jack had been awake all night and had been allowed to hire the aircraft without being strict in adherence to the rules before taking off. There exists provisions of the Air Navigation Order (ANO) with Regulations like The Rules of the Air Regulations, The Air Navigation (General) Regulations, the Air Navigation (Cosmic Radiation) (Keeping of Records) Regulations, the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations and a number of permanent Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) Regulations made under the Order. These Regulations are it also contains the provisions of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations. These basic categories of regulations and their ... The organizational bodies and their regulations are considered in detail which helps to identify the list of probable infringements Jack could face. The different regulations by the ANO that are framed are all concerned with each detail of aviation transportation, both civil and military aviation. The basic need for organized way of conducting the activity and ensuring safety of man and machine is kept in mind to formulate these rules. The provisions for flying and the orders or rules for the aircraft include the rule for pilots to comply with Air Navigation Order, Air Navigation General Rules and Rules of the Air. The Rules of the Air Regulations of 1991 specifies the regulations based on the context for interpretation of the same. These are categorized into general, visual flight rules, instrument flight rules, aerodrome flight rules, special and general flight rules, visual and aural signals and lights and signals to be shown by the aircraft (Statutory Instrument, 2000). Further, the authorizations and documents required, emergency drills, local regulations and accident reporting are also laid down (Bowman, 2007). According to Articles 3 to 7 of ANO, an aircraft should be registered by CAA in the United Kingdom and contain the trademark of the aircraft and country. Articles 8 to 24 and 95 of CAA like Certificate of Maintenance Review, Equipment of aircraft, and Radio equipment of aircraft require that any aircraft be checked for flight conditions before and after flying. All pilots are required to comply with all the regulations of the provisions of the ANO. Articles 26 and 28 to 37 lay the rules for validation of licences, personal flying log book, the pilot's