Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay Example for Free

Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay Questions about morality, family relationships, freedom of expression, and sexuality are at stake in the gay marriage debate. The main argument of the issue of same sex marriage is how much we should allow the government to control in issues like marriage in our private lives. â€Å"At Issue: Gay Marriage†, which is a book written by Debra Miller in 2012, includes a broad spectrum of views on the subject. One of the biggest issues in the gay marriage debate is the meaning of the separation of church and state in the United States. Some organizations and churches argue that state support of same-sex marriage is a breach of their religious freedoms which are protected by the US Constitution and if they are forced by laws enacted to include same sex marriages that they are being forced to accept acts that are against their religious beliefs. In a statement made concerning same sex marriage; some religious organizations and churches claimed that homosexual acts go against their religious beliefs and the natural moral law and that they should not be forced to perform marriages that go against their beliefs. Religious organizations say that to legalize homosexual marriage is religious persecution in their eyes. People that approve of gay marriage make the point that marriage is a legal right and a religious right as well because church and the state are separate. Activists argue that homosexual couples have a right to a marriage the same as heterosexual couples do. Another point that is called on is that people do not have to marry in a church but can do so in a court house as well and that no church or religious organization is bound to marry any couple. They are basically saying that churches are not forced to do anything against their belief system. One side will argue against federal laws that encompass and over rule state laws. Others will argue that each state should be able to make and enforce laws that concern each state as they see fit within their state governmental departments, like those concerning marriage laws. President Bush believed and stated that â€Å"the voice of the people is being compromised by the actions of a few judges in isolated cases†, (President George Bush, 2003). Former President Bush believes that laws like these could threaten every state in the union because of the â€Å"full faith and credit† clause in Article IV of the Constitution, (The United States Constitution, Article III, Section 2, 2013), which requires all states to honor the laws of every other state. President Bush said in an interview that the full faith and credit clause would require all states same-sex marriages performed anywhere in America. Bush, 2003) Civil Unions include heterosexual and same sex unions according to The Department of Internal Affairs, (The Department of Internal Affairs, 2004). Civil Unions differ from marriage because they are entered into by two people who chose to live together as man and wife and present themselves to the public and in private this way without an official marriage or marriage license. They consider themselves married but the government, whether state, local, or federal do not. At one time heterosexual civil unions were accepted and now are no longer recognized in most states. What this means is that people with a marriage license issued by the state are guaranteed certain rights, responsibilities, and privileges that people in civil unions are not given. These rights extend to the work place where insurance is guaranteed to a spouse of heterosexuals that are married but not to civil unions between same or opposite sex couples working in the same place. If same sex marriage and civil unions are both accepted and laws are enacted to approve of them then I believe this opens the doors to many other types of behaviors in the future that will do more harm than good to our society. These behaviors would include the right of an older person to marry a child for instance or to marry an animal or inanimate object even. We must ask ourselves one question and that is where we are willing to draw the line in our inclusions and amendments to the laws that were written to protect us in the beginning. The more we accept the more we are willing to accept as a society.

Comparing John Cheever’s The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight Essay

Comparing John Cheever’s The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight Two stories by John Cheever, The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight (5-48), will be explored in terms of how the characters, genre and point of view in these stories give rise to classic fiction. The Swimmer is of a suburban man, Neddy Merrill, who decides to return home from work by swimming eight miles through all of his neighbors' pools along the way. At each pool he encounters a former mistress, distant and unfriendly neighbours and other symbols of a bitter, frustrated life. To Neddy, this is his epic day's journey. However, when he arrives home, his family has left him. The swimmer has made it home; but too much has changed. While 5-48 is about the protagonist, Blake, having an affair with the emotionally weak Dent. The story begins with Blake firing Dent and she in turn stalks him to the 5-48 with a gun. She gains her revenge by making him kneel before her. Blake’s humiliation is complete when she forces him to rub his face in the dirt. 5-48 is developed as a typical story with the two principal characters, Blake and Dent, very well developed. There is constant tension from the point where Blake (depicted as egotistical, insensitive and in control) leaves the office to the train 5-48, all the while being pursued by Dent (the victim, who is emotionally weak, manipulated and cheated). Its chronological form simplifies the story and makes it a fast paced and delightful read. In addition, there is realism injected by actual places like the 5-48 train and Shady Hill, tired and cold relationships, betrayal, revenge and affairs that are so commonplace in society. Swimmer seems to be a painful reflection of his own life that was blighted by serious al... ...s request for a drink or the idea of entertaining him or give him money. In retrospect after analyzing Cheever’s The Swimmer and The Five-Forty-Eight, I think that isolation stands out as the underlying theme for both stories although they are markedly different in plot and genre. Also these stories seem to be a poignant reminder of Cheever’s personal life and to an extent a chapter of life in that period, although poverty, discrimination and adultery are still present today and affect both you and me. Works Cited Cheever, John. â€Å"The Five-Forty-Eight.† The Stories of John Cheever. New York: Knopf, 1978. ---------------. "The Swimmer." The Stories of John Cheever. New York: Knopf, 1978. Works Consulted Slabey, Robert M. "John Cheever: The Swimming' of America." Critical Essays on John Cheever. Ed. Robert G. Coolins. Boston: Hall, 1982. 180-90.

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado† Unexpected Endings In â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado† there are several themes shown throughout the short story. There are only two main characters in the story, and each shows their way of betrayal. The entire story is based on betrayal, and lies. Fortunado is betrayed by Monresor, who in the end, kills this intoxicated man. Montresor was supposedly betrayed by Fortunado, a story of which we are never told. Finally, we as the reader are betrayed by the narrator, because we are given so few details and logic to back up the story.Fortunado, Montresor, and the reader are betrayed throughout the short story, â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado†. Throughout the story, Montresor betrays Fortunado. He asks Fortunado to come into his catacombs aware that he would be killing him. He taunts Fortunado by asking him if he want to go back, because he is sick. Montresor does so when saying â€Å"‘Come,’ I said, with decision, ‘we will go b ack; your health is precious†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Poe 535) However, when Fortunado insists he comes to taste the amontillado, he is once again betrayed by Montresor when he drinks more of his wine.He becomes overly intoxicated and once again, is able to be taken advantage of. The entire walk through the catacombs Montresor betrays Fortunado by lying to him and taunting him about being sick. At the end of the story Montresor traps Fortunado by building him into a small shackled space. â€Å"A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me back violently† (Poe 536). According to Chad Dyer â€Å"The story is written in the form of confession, its reader learning of Montresour’s vengeful deed fifty years after its execution. † (Dyer).When Montresor kills Fortunando he commits not only a huge crime but a betrayal that is unbelievable to most people. Furtunado is a simpler, less obvious betrayer. He is mentioned in the very beginning cause a â€Å"thousand injuries† (Poe 533) causing Montresor to â€Å"vow upon revenge† (Poe 533). Despite all the wrongdoing of Montresor, Fotunado was the beginning, and cause of it all. â€Å"It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunado cause to doubt my good will† (Poe 533). As the editorial team on Shmoop claims, â€Å"Fortunado betrays himself by not paying enough attention to his surroundings†. Shmoop Editorial Team). Fortunado was so severely intoxicated he didn’t stop to notice the dead bodies surrounding him in the catacombs, not the fact that he was with a man he has never been friendly with. He allowed himself to continually drink from the wine his enemy was providing without even the thought that it could be deadly. In the beginning of the story, Montresor tells us â€Å"The thousand injuries of Furtunado I had borne as best I could†¦ † (Poe 533) We however ar e never given any type of proof of what Fortunado had done to hurt Montrsor as much as he claims.We are never given an explanation, or even a slight clue of the wrongdoing Fortunado had caused. This leaves one to suggest that maybe the narrator was telling us a complete lie. The story was written to keep us guessing. Throughout the entire walk through the catacombs, we had no clue what they were truly walking through. We were given vague descriptions of the bodies lining the walls. When he describes building the brick wall to trap Furtunado, he describes it in a very undetailed description. Montresor shows betrayal, as well as Fortunado, and the narrator.This proves it to be a common theme throughout the story. It is shown through Montresor when he betrays Fortunado multiple times. When he kills Fortunado, he lies to him throughout the story, and plans to kill him before he even agrees to drink wine with him. Fortunado’s betrayal, although never explained, is the beginning of all the betrayal throughout the story. He has hurt Montresor in a way so badly Montresor feels his only escape it to kill Fortunado. As the reader were betrayed throughout the entire story.We are told multiple things throughout the story, but nothing is ever proven. We have to assume the narrator is telling us the truth. The theme betrayal is shown dramatically through Poe’s eyes.Works Cited Dyer, Chad M. Edgar Allen Poes The Cask Of Amontillado. Diss. Ball State, 1992. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. Web. <https://cardinalscholar. bsu. edu/bitstream/handle/190175/1/D94_1991DyerChadM. pdf>. Poe, Edgar A. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print. Riggs, Kait. The Cask of Amontillado Irony Analysis of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† In â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe, the main character named Montresor is set out for revenge. Montresor’s only concern is to get revenge on the man who has wronged him named Fortuanto. Montresor never states why Fortunato deserves to be punished. The only statement Montresor makes is that Fortunato â€Å"causes him a thousand injuries† until â€Å"venturing upon insult. † (Poe, Online) Montresor plans to take out his revenge by burying Fortunato alive. Montresor carries out each detail while he smiles at his victim.Montresor doesn’t smile at the thought of Fortunato’s â€Å"immolation† but because of viciousness. (Sweet Jr. Online) Montresor smiles because he believes the sacrifice of Fortunato will bring him a great reward. Fortunato is ironically the â€Å"mirror self† of Montresor (Sweet Jr. Online). Montresor’s desire to bury Fortunato alive â €Å"paints the psychological portrait of repression† (Sweet Jr. Online). The burial of Fortunato represses Montresor’s evil nature and puts him at peace. In â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† Edgar Allan Poe uses irony to develop his theme of seeking salvation through repression.Poe uses Fortunato’s name ironically to symbolize one personality between Montresor and Fortunato. Though Fortunato means â€Å"the fortunate one† in Italian, Fortuanto meets an unfortunate fate as the victim Montresor’s overall revenge plot. (Stott, Online) Therefore, the Fortunato side of Montresor symbolizes fortune. Montresor’s desire is to repress Fortunato. Since â€Å"the love of money is the root of all evils,† a fortune would â€Å"plunge a man into ruin and destruction† (1Timothy 6:9-10). The Fortunato side of Montresor’s personality wants to have wealth.The wealth Fortunato receives makes him both respected and feared. (Poe, Online ) By having wealth, Fortunato causes Montresor â€Å"a thousand injuries†(Poe, Online). When Fortunato’s wealth gains the fear of others, he â€Å"ventures upon insulting God† (Poe, Online). When a â€Å"man seeks greed for gain, he curses and renounces the Lord† (Psalms 10:3). Montresor needs to repress Fortunato to protect his soul from damnation. (Stott, Online) The only way Montresor can protect himself is to get rid of Fortunato. Montresor can repress the aspect of his personality which insults God by burying Fortunato alive.Fortunato, ironically despite his name, faces a very unfortunate fate at the hands of Montresor. Montresor’s name translation similar to Fortunato’s in two ways. In French Montresor’s name â€Å"combines the words montrer and sort meaning to show fate† (Clendenning, Online). Montresor shows Fortunato his fate but Fortunato â€Å"receives no utterance to a threat† about his fate. (Poe, Online) Wh en Montresor shows Fortunato his fate of being buried alive it demonstrates that Fortunato’s live burial is an act of repression. The second French translation for Montersor is â€Å"my treasure†.Through punishing Fortunato Montresor believes he can have the treasure of purity and salvation. Fortunato’s dress is ironic for a man with his stature in society. Fortunato is a man with stature who is â€Å"rich, respected, and admired† (Poe, Online). Fortunato wears a â€Å"tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head is surmounted by the conical cap and bells† for the carnival. † (Poe, Online). Instead of the cap representing Christ’s crown of thorns, the cap represents Satan’s role as â€Å"Prince of Fools† (Pittman, Online).Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Christians were able to receive salvation. Through Fortunato’s sacrifice, Montresor will seek salvation. Montresor dresses more like a priest for the carn ival season. â€Å"Montresor’s black roquelaire symbolizes a priest’s black cope worn during a funeral mass. † (Cooney, Online) Montresor dresses for the occasion that he is going to bury Fortunato. Montresor’s attire suggests that the repression of Fortunato will have an important spiritual reward. Through the repression of Fortunato, Montresor will reach salvation.The carnival setting ironically suggests a time for sin. â€Å"The carnival season consists of the last indulgences in the pleasures of the flesh† (Pittman, Online). Fortunato’s sin of abundantly drinking makes Montresor‘s plan easy to carry out. â€Å"The word carnival can be translated in Italian meaning to put away the flesh which demonstrates symbolic irony of Montresor’s intent for Fortunato† (Clendenning, Online). Montresor can make himself free of sin and worthy of salvation by repressing the sinfulness of Fortunato. The catacombs are an ironic symbol o f the way Montresor thinks.The repression begins when Montresor takes Fortunato into his family catacombs with the promise of Amontillado wine. The catacombs are â€Å"lined with human remains† and that suggests generational family troubles (Poe, Online). Fortunato keeps going farther and farther into the catacombs with only his sinful thoughts of being able to drink more wine, not knowing he is moving closer and closer to his fate of being buried alive. The wall symbolizes the finish of the repression of Fortunato. â€Å"Ironically, the wall forms Fortunato’s burial crypt. (Sweet Jr. , Online) Salvation can only happen when sins are repented. Once Fortunato yells â€Å"For the love of God, Montresor! ,† Montresor says â€Å"Yes, . . . for the love of God! † (Poe, Online). Montresor believes that Fortunato’s repression shows his love for God and demonstrates Montresor reaching salvation. The cask symbolizes a confession. Montresor tells the story fifty years later in a confession tone. â€Å"When Montresor says, â€Å"You, who so well know the nature of my soul,† he implies a priest receives his confession† (Sweet Jr. , Online).Montresor believes that Fortunato’s burial was done in good. Montresor has no remorse as he confesses but, he still confesses. â€Å"Montresor’s conscience knows Fortunato’s burial is an evil deed. † (Sweet Jr. , Online) Montresor ends by saying â€Å"In pace requiescat† (Poe, Online). â€Å"Montresor’s prayer suggests that he desires relief from guilt, not forgiveness for a crime† (Sweet Jr. 11). The feeling of salvation Montresor seeks through his confession doesn‘t happen. â€Å"For a confession to receive absolution, the confessor must demonstrate the conviction of remorse. (Sweet Jr. , Online) Montresor is unable to achieve the salvation he seeks through the repression of Fortunato. The Amontillado symbolizes Christ’s bl ood in communion. Christ’s blood offers the salvation that Montresor seeks. The Amontillado may lead Fortunato to his burial but it symbolizes the salvation Montresor wants to gain through repression. Fortunato wants to drink the wine out of pride and lust while Montresor sees the wine as something that brings him the bond of communion and the reward of salvation.Edgar Allan Poe’s uses ironic symbols throughout â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado. † The ironic symbols helped him develop the theme of seeking salvation through repression. Fortunato’s character was able to represent man’s flesh and how people easily give in to the sins of the flesh while Montresor represents how man seeks salvation through acts of repression. Fortunato represents the side of Montresor that should confess but Montresor chooses to bury Fortunato which leads to the failure of his own salvation. The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado† Unexpected Endings In â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado† there are several themes shown throughout the short story. There are only two main characters in the story, and each shows their way of betrayal. The entire story is based on betrayal, and lies. Fortunado is betrayed by Monresor, who in the end, kills this intoxicated man. Montresor was supposedly betrayed by Fortunado, a story of which we are never told. Finally, we as the reader are betrayed by the narrator, because we are given so few details and logic to back up the story.Fortunado, Montresor, and the reader are betrayed throughout the short story, â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado†. Throughout the story, Montresor betrays Fortunado. He asks Fortunado to come into his catacombs aware that he would be killing him. He taunts Fortunado by asking him if he want to go back, because he is sick. Montresor does so when saying â€Å"‘Come,’ I said, with decision, ‘we will go b ack; your health is precious†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Poe 535) However, when Fortunado insists he comes to taste the amontillado, he is once again betrayed by Montresor when he drinks more of his wine.He becomes overly intoxicated and once again, is able to be taken advantage of. The entire walk through the catacombs Montresor betrays Fortunado by lying to him and taunting him about being sick. At the end of the story Montresor traps Fortunado by building him into a small shackled space. â€Å"A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me back violently† (Poe 536). According to Chad Dyer â€Å"The story is written in the form of confession, its reader learning of Montresour’s vengeful deed fifty years after its execution. † (Dyer).When Montresor kills Fortunando he commits not only a huge crime but a betrayal that is unbelievable to most people. Furtunado is a simpler, less obvious betrayer. He is mentioned in the very beginning cause a â€Å"thousand injuries† (Poe 533) causing Montresor to â€Å"vow upon revenge† (Poe 533). Despite all the wrongdoing of Montresor, Fotunado was the beginning, and cause of it all. â€Å"It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunado cause to doubt my good will† (Poe 533). As the editorial team on Shmoop claims, â€Å"Fortunado betrays himself by not paying enough attention to his surroundings†. Shmoop Editorial Team). Fortunado was so severely intoxicated he didn’t stop to notice the dead bodies surrounding him in the catacombs, not the fact that he was with a man he has never been friendly with. He allowed himself to continually drink from the wine his enemy was providing without even the thought that it could be deadly. In the beginning of the story, Montresor tells us â€Å"The thousand injuries of Furtunado I had borne as best I could†¦ † (Poe 533) We however ar e never given any type of proof of what Fortunado had done to hurt Montrsor as much as he claims.We are never given an explanation, or even a slight clue of the wrongdoing Fortunado had caused. This leaves one to suggest that maybe the narrator was telling us a complete lie. The story was written to keep us guessing. Throughout the entire walk through the catacombs, we had no clue what they were truly walking through. We were given vague descriptions of the bodies lining the walls. When he describes building the brick wall to trap Furtunado, he describes it in a very undetailed description. Montresor shows betrayal, as well as Fortunado, and the narrator.This proves it to be a common theme throughout the story. It is shown through Montresor when he betrays Fortunado multiple times. When he kills Fortunado, he lies to him throughout the story, and plans to kill him before he even agrees to drink wine with him. Fortunado’s betrayal, although never explained, is the beginning of all the betrayal throughout the story. He has hurt Montresor in a way so badly Montresor feels his only escape it to kill Fortunado. As the reader were betrayed throughout the entire story.We are told multiple things throughout the story, but nothing is ever proven. We have to assume the narrator is telling us the truth. The theme betrayal is shown dramatically through Poe’s eyes.Works Cited Dyer, Chad M. Edgar Allen Poes The Cask Of Amontillado. Diss. Ball State, 1992. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. Web. <https://cardinalscholar. bsu. edu/bitstream/handle/190175/1/D94_1991DyerChadM. pdf>. Poe, Edgar A. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print. Riggs, Kait.

Sibling Rivalry And Love Is A Kind Of Animosity Between...

Name; Tarjinder Singh Class; English B Professor; Mrs. .Verbal Date; 09/27/15 Rivalry and Love Sibling rivalry and love is a kind of animosity between two brothers. It generally starts when two brothers spend more time with each other during their childhood than with their parents. A sibling relationship is often influenced and made complex by factors such as personality, birth order and parental treatment. In adulthood, brothers find their relationship with each other in clashes over unresolved childhood issues such as guilt, financial success and self-esteem. In â€Å"The Richest Brother† Tobias Wolff explores the rivalry and love between two brothers. He explains how the sibling rivalry and love makes both brothers look after each other. It all started when Pete’s parents showed more affection toward his brother than to him. Pete, the older brother, is financially successful and owns a real estate business. He lives with his wife and two children in Santa Cruz. Donald, the younger brother, is still single. He drifts from location to location and job to job, joining a Pentecostal community. Donald often borrows money from his brother without paying him back. In the story, the main conflict seems to be their sibling rivalry and love between Pete and Donald. The rivalry first started with the older brother Pete. He thinks that his mother showed more devotion towardShow MoreRelatedSibling Rivalry And Love Is A Kind Of Animosity Among Two Brothers1153 Words   |  5 Pages Sibling rivalry and love is a kind of animosity among two brothers. It generally starts when two brothers spend more time with each other during their childhood than their parents.Sibling relationship is often influenced and complex by facts s uch as personality,birth order and parents treatment. In adulthood brothers find their relationship with each other in clashed by unresolved childhood such as guilt, financial success and self esteem. 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