Short Story - 1027 Words

â€Å"That’s such an old person’s joke,† I say. Peter is standing behind a small table, unstacking plastic cups. He smiles when he sees me. â€Å"I’m going to get some wine,† I say. Mom says, â€Å"Good idea,† then she follows me to the table. â€Å"Hey there,† she says, â€Å"your name’s Peter?† she asks. He nods: yes. â€Å"Is there a limit on drinks?† I ask. â€Å"Can you give her half a cup,† says mom, then she whispers, â€Å"she’s not twenty-one yet,† and gives me a nudge in the side with her elbow. â€Å"Either I drink, or I kill myself right here,† I say. Mom calls me dramatic, but Peter laughs. He holds up his index finger, then he winks at me. Thank God, Mom doesn’t see. I can’t help but notice how Peter has got these really lovely dimples. For a second, I want to bite†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"No peeking!† she says. Then she points at me, â€Å"I see you peeking!† she says. Once our eyes are closed, Mac tells us to hum. We’re supposed to do it one-after-another. â€Å"Feel the energy build!† she says. She explains how she’s studied meditation. â€Å"Meditation, medication, magic!† she calls out. I open my eyes to look at mom, but she’s still got her eyes shut. Dahlia sees me, and mouths: CLOSE. YOUR. EYES. So I do. â€Å"What do these words have in common?† I whisper, â€Å"they all start with a m? Meditation, medication, magic, mac, madness, mental, m–.† I hop in place. Mom elbows me, but I can feel her laughing through my hand. â€Å"These are our tools!† Mac cries, suddenly ten times more passionate, â€Å"These are our strengths, if we choose to own them.† She lets out a wild scream. I open my eyes again and am surprised to see that everyone seems relatively okay with Mac’s outbreak. Mom’s eyes are still closed, but she is snorting with the effort of not laughing. â€Å"Will you own these strengths with me?† asks Mac. Dahlia and a couple of other women yell, â€Å"YES!† â€Å"I can’t hear you!† says Mac. â€Å"YES!† scream the woman, their teeth bared. Dahlia lets go of Mac’s hands and punching this air. â€Å"Now,† says Mac, â€Å"I am going to pass around some Mandrake. You needn’t take very much, just a pinch. Historically, Mandrake has been used by witches to prevent demonic possession. If used correctly, it will strengthen the mind, spirit and heart. Peter–†Show MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. 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These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreRacism in the Short Stor ies1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intruding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narr ator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. InRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 Words   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of events

Legal Age to Drink †Should It Be Changed Free Essays

Legal Age to Drink: Should it be Changed? In this day and age with more sophisticated teens and young people abusing alcohol, the issue concerning whether or not teenagers should be able to drink at a younger age is an important topic. In the article â€Å"Perils of Prohibition† Elizabeth M. Whelan argues that alcohol should be legalized at the age of eighteen instead of twenty-one. We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Age to Drink – Should It Be Changed? or any similar topic only for you Order Now She hopes to persuade readers, parents, and educators to support her proposal for the change by successful alcohol education. Although Whelan provides valuable examples to prove that proper alcohol education is an effective solution in reducing the problems faced with alcohol abuse among American teenagers, she does not provide enough substantial evidence to justify changing the legal drinking age to eighteen years old. In the beginning paragraphs, Whelan compares alcohol consumption with American teens and their European peers. She says, â€Å"American teens, unlike their European peers, don’t learn how to drink gradually, cautiously, and in moderation† (2). This is a great example because it makes the readers think about the different cultural views of alcohol consumption among youthful drinkers globally. Though the consumption of alcohol in France, Spain, and Portugal is higher than the United States per person, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower (4). Whelan hopes to prove that if moderate alcohol consumption and proper awareness of the use of it is instilled in children eighteen years old and up then drinking alcohol should be okay. She compares three countries to the United States in her example. We live in a pretty big world, is it the same in other â€Å"drinking† countries? The example is fairly effective but comparing drinking habits in only three countries to the United States is not enough to persuade readers. In order to gain support for successful alcohol education being a key factor in helping the problems faced with alcohol abuse, Whelan mentions an example involving her daughter. She explained to her daughter the differences in alcohol contents and the importance of not drinking on an empty stomach (8). The strength of this example is effective because it is coming from personal experience. It’s detailed and provided by a woman whose education and occupation qualifies her to make this kind of study. This type of person often makes you want to believe him or her. However, this piece of evidence uses the hasty generalization fallacy. A single personal experience or even many is not enough to convince readers. People’s personal experiences differ greatly. And how do the readers even know if alcohol education was successful with her daughter? Her daughter may not have gotten herself into trouble recently but she’s still under the legal age of drinking and who knows what would happen once she goes off to college? Because of her daughter’s age and the fallacy used, creates a weak example for supporting alcohol education. Whelan continues with examples to prove that proper education is the key instead of prohibiting teenagers the right to drink until the age of twenty-one. She mentions tragic accidents that occurred at the Ivy League school her daughter Christine will be attending in the fall. A student who was nearly electrocuted when, in a drunken state, climbed on a moving train. The student survived but lost three of his limbs (10). A second incident where an intoxicated student ended up in a chimney and was found three days later dead (10). She hopes to convince readers that students do not make good choices when they drink, if they’re not educated properly. The tragedies with the sick, injured students are fair because they’re emotionally appealing to the reader but weak because she fails to provide statistical evidence as to how often injuries of this kind occur. The examples are extreme and rare ones that are unlikely to happen on a regular basis. Whelan continues supporting her claim by mentioning a study that was done at the Harvard School of Public Health by her colleagues. What they found in their survey of college students was that they drink â€Å"early and . . . often,† frequently to the point of getting ill (1). She defends her claim by appealing to authority as evidence. And readers would not be happy knowing that students are becoming sick from irresponsible drinking – the human factor. This study is included to let people know that college students are drinking irresponsibly and becoming sick from it as a result. Not surprisingly, she failed to provide statistical evidence again. That is, evidence of how many students is involved in the survey and the diversity of people in the study. These are important factors needed to be included in the survey to make it believable and convincing to the readers. Finally, two analogies are given by Whelan in hopes of her readers to accept her case. This author creates a weak analogy when comparing sex education to alcohol education. In an attempt to change the legal age of drinking to twenty-one, she says â€Å"we choose to teach our children about safe sex, including the benefits of teen abstinence, why not about safe drinking†? (13) The only similarity is that drinking and sex can cause unsafe or unwanted events, therefore it makes sense to be educated on both subjects. However, the similarity is not relevant enough to be considered a good analogy. Safe sex education has been taught for many years to children but it has not stopped them from having sex or preventing unwanted pregnancies. If this is the case, how would safe drinking education be convincing to the readers to change the legal age to eighteen? The second analogy which is fairly significant in dealing with the unfairness of the legal age to drink, is comparing the ability for teens to be able to drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risks their lives in the U. S armed forces to drinking. She says, â€Å"At eighteen they’re considered adults but when they want to enjoy a drink like other adults, they are â€Å"disenfranchised†Ã¢â‚¬  (5). Whelan hopes this evidence will convince readers that if eighteen year olds are given â€Å"adult† responsibilities then they shall be treated as adults in all aspects of life, including drinking alcohol in moderation. She makes a great point with the comparison but when comparing voting, paying taxes, taking out a loan, and marrying to drinking, the responsibilities don’t impair your brain in a way that drinking alcohol would. Whelan presents herself as a kind-hearted woman who is a bit upset and frustrated with the current laws regarding the legal age to drink. The example she uses explaining how she educated her daughter with regards to alcohol content shows her taking a subtle approach with allowing her daughter to drink rather than making it appear to be a bad thing if you are under the legal age. (8) She shows compassion and concern. Whelan’s tone throughout the essay is fairly tolerable, but she does show some depreciation towards the government when she compares teenagers being able to â€Å"drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risk their lives as members of the U. S. rmed forces but laws in all fifty say that no alcoholic beverages may be sold to anyone until that magic twenty-first birthday. † (3) When she mentions â€Å"we should make access to alcohol legal at eighteen and at the same time, we should come down much harder on alcohol abusers and drunk drivers of all ages† (12) she is genuinely concerned of the welfare of all people with regards to alcohol and safety. She eagerly w ants to make a difference. And as public-health scientist with a daughter heading to college, she has professional and personal concerns in regards to the dangers of alcohol. While it is obvious that Whelan’s heart is in the right place and that alcohol abuse among teenagers is a problem, her argument suffers from lack of evidence to support changing the legal age of drinking to eighteen years old. Proper alcohol education can be helpful in terms of improving the problem but that’s it. Whelan’s article indicates a need for further study on the abuse of teenage drinking. It would be helpful to see statistical results in studies done among colleges across the nation and in all areas from rich to poor. The more valid studies the better chance finding the proper solutions to the problem. How to cite Legal Age to Drink – Should It Be Changed?, Essay examples

Canadian Law Indigenous Legal Traditions

Question: Discuss about theCanadian Lawfor Indigenous Legal Traditions. Answer: Introduction: Canada respects the difference, and it has high level of tolerance. In Canada, individuals are not restricted to follow any custom or tradition; they are free and can follow any custom or tradition to the extent they are not violating the right of other persons. In this paper, we are answering the argument of buffalo women that is We have to figure out the relationship between Cree Law and Canadian Law. this essay was argumentative in nature and state the evidences related to relationship between creek law and Canadian law. Relationship Between Creek Law and Canadian Law: Canadian law was consists of two laws that is common law and civil law, and rights refer to aboriginal people are refer to occupancy in historical laws and use of the land. Rights related to treaties are incorporated in treaties which are entered by the crown and a group of aboriginal people. The constitution of canada provides protection to the rights of aboriginal and treaty (Department Of Justice, n.d.). Mikmosis and Wetiko was the part of the national research project named as Accessing?Justice?and?Reconciliation (AJR) project. This project focuses on the use of legal principles by indigenous society to solve their conflicts (Indigenous Law Research Unit. n.d.). We can understand the relationship between indigenous law and Canadian law with the help of wetiko example. Wetiko is a concept that defines those peoples in Cree societies which are harmful to others. It states the obligations, process and response to the human violence and harm in particular societies. For aboriginal people indigenous legal traditions are important source of guidance. For resolving their disputes aboriginal peoples are using these laws from many years. It was seen that from many years these laws are ignored by the non indigenous laws. We can say that indigenous laws are ignored and overruled by the non indigenous laws. Such practices of law create connectivity between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians in such a way that is not possible under current practices of common and civil law. We can understand this with the help of example that common law and civil law are still applied in Canada which separate the indigenous people from their land and environment (Borrows, 2005). Relationship between indigenous and Canadian law can be seen in family law, property law and other obligations, and these relations are connected with land and resources. The existence of indigenous law in Canadian law will give great benefit to the indigenous people and also to the larg e number of public if they are ready to give space to grow and develop. Relationship Between Canadian Law and Indigenous Law is Stated from the Following Judicial Accommodations: In 1982 in Canada the rights customs, practices and traditions of indigenous people are recognized and affirmed in Canadian Constitution which was considered as first formal commitment by Canada. These rights are recognized by the section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, and section states that all the treaty rights related to aboriginal people are recognized and affirmed by constitution. Section 35 clearly acknowledges the continuing existence of traditional laws, beliefs of aboriginal people and also their practices. Supreme Court interpret ate this section in the case R. v. Van der Peet12, and consider whether sto lo nation members has right to do fishing for arranging their food and commercial purposes. Court further held that section 35 give right to the indigenous people to spend their life on the land which is situated in the different societies and follow their own practices, traditions and cultures which are acknowledged and recognized with the sovereignty of the Crown, and section 5 also give constitutional framework to this right. From the above facts we can say that section 35 is appropriate evidence which recognize the relationship between indigenous legal traditions with Canadian legal traditions (Chartrand, 2005). This was not the only evidence which shows the recognition of indigenous law in Canada. There are some other ways also which prove that Canada recognize these indigenous legal traditions such as recognition of indigenous governments and various bodies which resolve disputes through the courts, parliament, legislatures, the executive, law societies and law schools. Indigenous communities shall apply their legal traditions through these organizations, and these organizations also play important role in preserving these traditions. Conclusion: In last we conclude that relationship between indigenous legal traditions and Canadian legal traditions can be proved through section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Relation in these two legal traditions is a way through which development and progress of indigenous society can be achieved. References: Indegenous Law research unit. Mikomosis and the Wetiko. Retrieved on 10th November 2016 from: https://www.indigenousbar.ca/indigenouslaw/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Mikomosis-and-the-Wetiko-Teaching-Guide-Web.pdf. Department Of Justice. Where our legal system comes from. Retrieved on 10th November 2016 from: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/just/03.html. Borrows, J. (2005). Indigenous Legal Traditions in Canada. Retrieved on 10th November 2016 from: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1380context=law_journal_law_policy. Napolean, V. Friedland, H. Indigenous Legal Traditions: Roots to Renaissance. Retrieved on 10th November 2016 from: https://www.law.utoronto.ca/utfl_file/count/users/mdubber/CAL/13-14/Napoleon%20and%20Friedland,%20Roots%20to%20Renaissance,%20formatted.pdf. Chartrand, D. L. (2005). Accommodating Indigenous Legal Traditions. Retrieved on 10th November 2016 from: https://www.indigenousbar.ca/pdf/Indigenous%20Legal%20Traditions.pdf.