Short Fiction Selections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Short Fiction Selections - Essay Example This quote captures the typical life of almost individual in this current society. This is because things have become tough, and life is rough and cruel on some people especially with regard to lack of income and poverty. Those who are fortunate to have money may also lack some vital elements of life such as joy. As a result, the harsh reality is that individuals in this society hardly achieve what they wish to have in life. In order to console themselves, most individuals use several activities and concepts that take them into the world of illusions in order to escape from these harsh realities. Several literary works indicate how different individuals in the society use imagine space to create illusions and pretend that they are in a world where they wish to be. In The Last Speaker of Language by Carol Anshaw and Pilgrim Life by Taylor Atrim, the characters love and a sense of belonging to forget their problems, albeit on a temporary basis. Similarly, in the short story Navigators by Mike Meginnis, the characters drown their problems using video games to avoid the realities that they have to face. Likewise, in other short stories such as Volcano by Lawrence Osborne, Diem Perdidi by Julie Otsuka, The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West and Culver City by Richrad Lauge, the characters employ several techniques to create illusion and experience the imaginary world. In today’s society, people use the imagine space to escape from their harsh reality. The authors through the short stories portray how characters use love and a sense of belonging to experience the imaginary world and escape everyday harsh realities. For example, in The Last Speaker of the Language, Darlyn comments,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It’s just about—even for a day—being this purely happy.  Like, happy to be a carbon-based life form† (Anshaw 7). In another short story, Pilgrim Life, one quote that relates to this topic says, â€Å"Pilgrim Life† starts with that calmin g view, that apartment, my millionaire roommate, my wine magazine job. The rest of it I entirely made up (I swear) over a three-month stretch in the midst of the worst financial crisis I’ve ever lived through† (Atrim 67). These quotes clearly illustrate how the characters create their own imagination in order to avoid real world. For instance, Darlyn expresses how she values happiness, and acknowledge that it may be for a short time, but is so important. This happiness helps her to escape from the problems with her alcoholic mum as well as job related problems. Similarly, in Pilgrim Life quote, the character acknowledges that not all the good things that he mentions are real, which shows that he sometimes seek imaginary experiences in order to escape from the problems that he has with his-girlfriend among other problems. Dreams and illusions is another strategy used by the authors to demonstrate how the characters uses imagine space to forget their problems. For instanc e, in the short story Volcano by Lawrence Osborne, Martha dreams of things that she would wish for, for example, she thinks that she can change her dream, and thus, change her situate\ion of being with an older man. Perhaps this comes from the technology captured in the following section, â€Å"The dream technique includes a drug and goggles that emit infrared light during REM sleep to allow the dreamer to be present in the dream and remember it, even influence it: by touching a rough surface†(Osborne 10). Other instances of illusion include Diem Perdidi by Julie Otsuka with the most famous quote â€Å"she remembers she does not remember.† She is suffering from dymensia, however, she can remember some things from the past. The most interesting part is that what she

Ethics and God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics and God - Essay Example The question here is, â€Å"Who decides the ethical standards for humans?† Certainly, the answer is God Almighty! There are various religions in this world, that differ in their intrinsic concepts, beliefs, trends, traditions, teachings, norms and values. However, almost all religions have one thing in common, what is good is appreciated by all religions and what is bad is condemned by all in general. Religion serves as the standard institution for the followers. The fundamental concept of a religion is that there is a God, or Gods (as some religions may emphasize), who has laid out certain standards for the followers. God clearly conveys through the religion what is good and what is bad. In addition to that, God has also inculcated a sense in humans so that they may differentiate between right and wrong. When people believe in God, they tend to respect ethics because they have fear of God. Thus, ethics cultivates in the society and becomes a standard for the people to abide b y. For example, murder is considered wrong â€Å"not just† because it is against humanity, â€Å"but also† because it is condemned by God, and God has inflicted punishment of burning in the hell for those who kill others (Baumgarth and Regan). If some people do not believe in God, they would still have a sense to distinguish between right and wrong.